epistle
noun
a letter, especially a formal or didactic one; written communication.
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epistle
American
[ih-pis-uhl]
/ ɪˈpɪs əl /
noun
-
a letter, especially a formal or didactic one; written communication.
-
(usually initial capital letter) one of the apostolic letters in the New Testament.
-
(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
British
/ ɪˈpɪsəl /
noun
-
New Testament any of the apostolic letters of Saints Paul, Peter, James, Jude, or John
-
a reading from one of the Epistles, forming part of the Eucharistic service in many Christian Churches
epistle
2
British
/ ɪˈpɪsəl /
noun
-
a letter, esp one that is long, formal, or didactic
-
a literary work in letter form, esp a dedicatory verse letter of a type originated by Horace
Etymology
Origin of epistle
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
Explanation
An epistle is a long, formal letter. Several books of the Bible consist of epistles. If you're used to emails and text messages, you might be surprised by the idea of the epistle — a letter that is very long and also very formal. An epistle isn't something you dash off in a few minutes while waiting for the bus. Epistles take time and thought to write, almost like doing a research paper. The Bible is full of many epistles — that's where many people have seen this word.
Vocabulary lists containing epistle
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Beyond Vietnam" (1967)
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In the Time of the Butterflies
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Twelfth Night
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The manuscript itself contains texts including the first complete epistle of Peter, the Book of Jonah, and an Easter homily.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2024
Yet the novel evolved incrementally from public to private, epistle to narrative as the scope of the vision enlarged.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2024
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.
From Scientific American • Aug. 3, 2023
Nearly everything that worked so well the first time falls apart in the new series, which becomes a languorously long, frequently cryptic epistle on the sin of letting style conquer substance.
From Washington Post • Jan. 12, 2020
On the way, Sor Asunci6n read us the epistle, which is what she called the rules we were to observe.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
