pamphlet

Etymology

From Middle English pamflet (14th century),^[1][2] from Anglo-Latin panfletus,^[3][2] apparently a popular short name for Pamphilus, seu de Amore (“Pamphilus, or On Love”), a 12th-century Latin love poem widely copied in the Middle Ages.^[3][2][1] The name Pamphilus is from Greek pámphilos “loved by all”.^[4][3]

The sense “short work on a question of current interest” dates from the late 16th century.^[3]

Noun

pamphlet

1. A small unbound printed work, usually with a paper cover.^[4][1][5]
2. A short essay or tract on a topic of current interest, often a controversial one.^[4][2][5][6]

Verb

pamphlet

1. To write pamphlets.^[2][6]
2. To describe something in a pamphlet, or to hand out pamphlets.^[2][6]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. [1] [2] [3] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. [1] [2] [3] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org