pamphlet
/ˈpæmflɪt/ noun, verb
Forms pamphlets pamphleting pamphletting pamphleted pamphletted
- noun A small, brief printed work, consisting either of a folded sheet of paper, or several sheets bound together into a booklet with only a paper cover, formerly containing literary compositions, newsletters, and newspapers, but now chiefly informational matter.
- noun (specifically) Such a work containing political material or discussing matters of controversy.
- noun (obsolete) A brief handwritten work.
- verb To distribute pamphlets (to someone or some place).
- verb (archaic) To write about (someone or something) in a pamphlet; to issue (some material) in the form of a pamphlet.
- verb To distribute pamphlets.
- verb (obsolete, rare) To write or produce pamphlets.
Synonyms
Etymology
The noun is derived from Late Middle English pamflet, pamphilet (“short written text; small book; tract”) [and other forms], from Middle French Pamphilet (compare Late Latin (Anglo-Latin) pamfletus, panfletus, paunflettus (“short written text”), Old French Panfilès), a popular shorthand for the 12th-century Latin love poem Pamphilus, seu de amore (Pamphilus, or On Love): the widely circulated pamphlets then gave this name to the whole phenomenon. Pamphilet is derived from Latin Pamphilus, the name of a protagonist of the poem + Middle French -et (suffix forming diminutive masculine nouns); while Pamphilus is from Ancient Greek Πάμφιλος (Pámphilos, literally “beloved by all”), from παν- (pan-, prefix meaning ‘all; every’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to protect; to shepherd”)) + φῐ́λος (phĭ́los, “beloved, dear”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰil- (“decent; friendly; good; harmonious”)).
For the Middle French and Old French use of the suffix -et to form shorthands for the titles of works, compare Middle French Avionet (“the fables of Avianus”) from Avianus; Middle French Catonet, Old French Chatonnet, Chatonez (“the Distichs of Cato”) from Caton (they were formerly believed to be by Cato); and Old French Esopet, Isopet (“Aesop’s Fables”) from Ésope (Aesop).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A writing; a book. Testament of love.
- noun A small book consisting of a few sheets of printed paper, stitched together, often with a paper cover, but not bound; a short essay or written discussion, usually on a subject of current interest.
- verb To write a pamphlet or pamphlets. [R.] Howell.
Etymology [OE. pamflet, pamfilet, paunflet, possibly fr. OF. palme the palm of the hand, F. paume (see Palm) + OF. fueillet a leaf, dim. of fueil, m., F. feuille, f., fr. L. folium, pl. folia, thus meaning, a leaf to be held in the hand; or perh. through old French, fr. L. Pamphila, a female historian of the first century who wrote many epitomes; prob., however, fr. OF. Pamflette, the Old French name given to Pamphilus, a poem in Latin verse of the 12th century, pamphlets being named from the popularity of this poem.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pamphlet”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details