epistle

[ ih-pis-uhl ]

See synonyms for epistle on Thesaurus.com

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.

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

Words Nearby epistle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use epistle in a sentence

All these actors forced questions onto the agenda of the British and the colonists, but few of them produced the kind of epistles that this book examines.
How a decades-long conversation shaped the young United States | Kenneth Mack | May 14, 2021 | Washington Post
On Halloween Ed proved he has not been forgotten when he published a now-famous epistle in response to the Jian Ghomeshi scandal.
Canada’s Subversive Sock Puppet: Ed the Sock Isn’t Afraid to Say Anything | Soraya Roberts | November 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
There was plenty more like this--every epistle dumber than the previous--but you get the general idea.
From ISIS to Ebola, What Has Made Naomi Wolf So Paranoid? | Michael Moynihan | October 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Ripperda accompanied this unexpected refusal, with a laboured epistle to his imperial friend.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter
Enclosed within this long epistle was a brief note from Mariamne.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various

Without a word the sailor took the epistle, read it slowly, while the boy watched him keenly, then thrust it under his pillow.
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. Ballantyne
These last three verses are a kind of preface to the following chapter, which is written in the style of an epistle from the king.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
Horace combats this prejudice with equal force and address in his fine epistle to Augustus.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)

British Dictionary definitions for epistle (1 of 2)

epistle

/ (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

Origin of epistle

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

British Dictionary definitions for Epistle (2 of 2)

Epistle

/ (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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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