missive

American  

[mis-iv] / ˈmɪs ɪv /

noun

1. a written message; letter.

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adjective

1. sent or about to be sent, especially of a letter from an official source.

missive British  

/ ˈmɪsɪv /

noun

1. a formal or official letter

2. a formal word for letter

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adjective

1. rare sent or intended to be sent

Etymology

Origin of missive

1400–50; late Middle English ( letter ) missive < Medieval Latin ( littera ) missīva sent (letter), equivalent to Latin miss ( us ) (past participle of mittere to send) + -īva, feminine of -īvus -ive

Explanation

A missive usually refers to the old-school style of hand-written communication on paper (remember that?), but these days you also might hear an email called a missive. No matter how you deliver it, a missive is a message. The noun missive comes from the Latin word missus, meaning "to send." You may have heard the phrase, "fire off a missive," meaning a note, memo or dispatch that was written and sent with urgency and conveyed an important message. It might have been a missive sent from a commander to the troops, telling them of a change in the battle plan. Or, maybe it was an urgent love letter to the commander's wife back home, telling her to tie a yellow ribbon round the ole oak tree...

Related Words

• memo
• memorandum