epistle
English
Etymology
From Old French epistre, from Latin epistola, from Ancient Greek ἐπιστολή (epistolē), from ἐπιστέλλω (epistellō, “I send a message”), from ἐπί (epi, “upon”) + στέλλω (stellō, “I prepare, send”).
Pronunciation
Noun
epistle (plural epistles)
- A letter, or a literary composition in the form of a letter.
- 1748 — David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section III, § 5.
- he may be hurried from this plan by the vehemence of thought, as in an ode, or drop it carlessly, as in an epistle or essay
- 1748 — David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section III, § 5.
- (Christianity) One of the letters included as a book of the New Testament.
- 1956 — Werner Keller (translated by William Neil), The Bible as History, revised English edition, Chapter 41, page 358
- Even last century scholars had begun to search for the cities in Asia Minor whose names have become so familiar to the Chistian world through the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of St. Paul.
- 1956 — Werner Keller (translated by William Neil), The Bible as History, revised English edition, Chapter 41, page 358
Related terms
Translations
a letter
book of the New Testament
Verb
epistle (third-person singular simple present epistles, present participle epistling, simple past and past participle epistled)
- (obsolete) To write; to communicate in a letter or by writing.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)