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• epistle
  epistle

  noun

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

  noun

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

epistle

American  

[ih-pis-uhl] / ɪˈpɪs əl /

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.

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Epistle ¹ British  

/ 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

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epistle ² British  

/ 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

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

epistle Epistle

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

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

Wohl imagines this section as an epistle to Bobby, describing what became of Edie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2022

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

A reading from the Epistle to the Colossians.

From BBC ● May 5, 2023

And with Mr. Masekela, he helped found the Jazz Epistles, a sextet of young all-stars whose 1960 LP, “Jazz Epistle: Verse 1,” signaled a turning point in modern South African jazz.

From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2021

Connoisseurs of corporate cant have a new collector’s item: Mark Zuckerberg’s latest Epistle to his Disciples.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 21, 2018

Two of Mozart’s 17 Epistle Sonatas opened the program.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 10, 2017

Mami scolded them all and continued The Epistle.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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