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definitions

pamphlet

[ pam-flit ]
/ ˈpæm flɪt /
|
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noun

a complete publication of generally less than 80 pages stitched or stapled together and usually having a paper cover.
a short treatise or essay, generally a controversial tract, on some subject of contemporary interest: a political pamphlet.

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RELATED WORDS

handout, leaflet, flyer, tract, brochure, folder, bulletin, announcement, compilation, circular, broadside, throwaway, tractate

Nearby words

  1. pampeluna,
  2. pamper,
  3. pampered,
  4. pampero,
  5. pamph.,
  6. pamphleteer,
  7. pamphletize,
  8. pamphrey,
  9. pamphylia,
  10. pampiniform

Origin of pamphlet

1375–1425; late Middle English pamflet < Anglo-Latin panfletus, pamfletus, syncopated variant of Pamphiletus, diminutive of Medieval Latin Pamphilus, title of a 12th-century Latin comedy. See -et
Related formspam·phlet·ar·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pamphlet

British Dictionary definitions for pamphlet

pamphlet

/ (ˈpæmflɪt) /

noun

a brief publication generally having a paper cover; booklet
a brief treatise, often on a subject of current interest, published in pamphlet form

Word Origin for pamphlet

C14 pamflet, from Anglo-Latin panfletus, from Medieval Latin Pamphilus title of a popular 12th-century amatory poem from Greek Pamphilos masculine proper name
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
Word Origin and History for pamphlet

pamphlet

n.

"small, unbound treatise," late 14c., from Anglo-Latin panfletus, popular short form of "Pamphilus, seu de Amore" ("Pamphilus, or about Love"), a short 12c. Latin love poem popular and widely copied in Middle Ages; the name from Greek pamphilos "loved by all," from pan- "all" + philos "loving, dear" see -phile). Meaning "brief work dealing with questions of current interest" is late 16c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper