epistle
/ɪˈpɪs.əl/ noun, verb
Forms epistles epistling epistled
- noun A literary composition in the form of a letter or series of letters, especially one in verse.
- noun (chiefly literary or humorous) A letter, especially one which is formal or issued publicly.
- noun (specifically, historical) Chiefly with a qualifying word, as in epistle dedicatory: a letter of dedication addressed to a patron or reader published as a preface to a literary work.
- noun One of the books of the New Testament which was originally a letter issued by an apostle to an individual or a community.
- noun An extract from a New Testament epistle (noun sense 3.1) or book other than a gospel which is read during a church service, chiefly the Eucharist.
- verb (chiefly literary or humorous) To write (something) in, or in the form of, a letter.
- verb (chiefly literary or humorous, archaic) To write a letter to (someone).
- verb (rare) To write (something) as an introduction or preface to a literary work; also, to provide (a literary work) with an introduction or preface.
- verb To write a letter.
- verb To communicate with someone through a letter.
- noun An extract from a New Testament epistle (sense 1.1) or book other than a gospel which is read during a church service, chiefly the Eucharist.
Synonyms
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English epistel, epistole, pistel (“letter; literary work in letter form; written legend or story; spoken communication; (Christianity) one of the letters by an apostle in the New Testament; extract from such a letter read as part of the Mass”) [and other forms], and then partly:
* from Old English epistol, epistola, pistol (“letter, epistle”), from Latin epistola (“letter, epistle; literary work in letter form”) (whence Late Latin epistola (“one of the letters by an apostle in the New Testament”)), from Ancient Greek ἐπῐστολή (epĭstolḗ, “letter; message”), from ἐπῐστέλλω (epĭstéllō, “to inform by, or to send, a letter or message”) (from ἐπῐ- (epĭ-, prefix meaning ‘on, upon’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at; near; on”)) + στέλλω (stéllō, “to dispatch, send”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to locate; to place, put”))) + -η (-ē, suffix forming action nouns); and
* from Anglo-Norman epistle, and Middle French epistle, epistele, epistole (“letter; (Christianity) one of the letters by an apostle in the New Testament; extract from such a letter read as part of the Mass”) (modern French épître), from Latin epistola (see above).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A writing directed or sent to a person or persons; a written communication; a letter; --applied usually to formal, didactic, or elegant letters.
- noun One of the letters in the New Testament which were addressed to their Christian brethren by Apostles. Epistle side, the right side of an altar or church to a person looking from the nave toward the chancel.
- verb To write; to communicate in a letter or by writing. [Obs.]
Etymology [OE. epistle, epistel, AS. epistol, pistol, L. epistola, fr. Gr. epistle, epistre, F. épître. See Stall.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “epistle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details