Etymologically
Log in

epistula

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɛˈpɪs.tʊ.ɫa][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eˈpis.tu.la][1]

Forms

epistula f (genitive epistulae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπιστολή (epistolḗ, “message, letter”).[2][3][4] It is also spelled ⟨epistola⟩, as often in Cicero's manuscripts and in ante- and post-classical Latin.[2][3] Etymonline derives the Greek from ⟨epistéllein⟩ “to send to”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of a letter.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant a written communication, a letter or dispatch, and in Tacitus the plural could be used of a single letter, perhaps on the model of litterae.[2] In imperial law it was a rescript answering a petition in a separate document, and ab epistulīs was a secretary, usually in the emperor's household.[2] It also meant a literary composition in the form of a letter, a moral essay, or a preface to the reader, as in Pliny.[2] Döderlein explains that litterae is the general word, while epistula is a letter sent by messenger to a distant friend, and codicilli a note to someone in the same town.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it is usually spelled epistola.[8] Old English epistol and Old French epistle gave English epistle.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a letter.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of receiving letters pluribus epistulīs “in several dispatches”.[3][6]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses ab epistulīs of a secretary.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A letter, written message, dispatch.[2][3]
  2. (law) An imperial rescript answering a petition separately.[2]
  3. ab epistulīs, a secretary.[2]
  4. A literary composition in letter form; a moral essay; a preface.[2]

Word family

  • epistolicus
  • epistulāris

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson