epistle

[ih-pis-uhl]

noun

1. a letter, especially a formal or didactic one; written communication.

2. (usually initial capital letter),  one of the apostolic letters in the New Testament.

3. (often initial capital letter),  an extract, usually from one of the Epistles of the New Testament, forming part of the Eucharistic service in certain churches.

Epistle

¹

/ ɪˈpɪsəl /

noun

1. New Testament any of the apostolic letters of Saints Paul, Peter, James, Jude, or John

2. a reading from one of the Epistles, forming part of the Eucharistic service in many Christian Churches

epistle

²

/ ɪˈpɪsəl /

noun

1. a letter, esp one that is long, formal, or didactic

2. a literary work in letter form, esp a dedicatory verse letter of a type originated by Horace

Word History and Origins

Origin of epistle¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English epistol < Latin epistula, epistola < Greek epistolḗ message, letter, equivalent to epi- epi- + stol- (variant stem of stéllein to send) + -ē noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of epistle¹

Old English epistol, via Latin from Greek epistolē, from epistellein to send to, from stellein to prepare, send

Example Sentences

Denizens of Port William speak of belonging to a “membership,” evoking both the concept of unity described in St. Paul’s epistles and the agricultural cooperatives that were established in the area in the 1920s.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Yet the novel evolved incrementally from public to private, epistle to narrative as the scope of the vision enlarged.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

To ponder the question and practice decoding an extraterrestrial epistle, an artist-led team has created a mock message from the stars to test us Earthlings.

Read more on Scientific American

With an alphabet on the hearth at my feet for reference, I contrived in an hour or two to print and smear this epistle:—

Read more on Literature

No wonder that letters addressed to people here had never received an answer: as well despatch epistles to a vault in a church aisle.

Read more on Literature