epistula Latin · revision 6886

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=Plautus|origins=grc ἐπιστολή}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ɛˈpɪs.tʊ.ɫa]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eˈpis.tu.la]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''epistula''' ''f'' (genitive epistulae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|grc|ἐπιστολή|tr=epistolḗ|t=message, letter]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(MLW) It is also spelled ⟨epistola⟩, as often in Cicero's manuscripts and in ante- and post-classical Latin.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Etymonline derives the Greek from ⟨epistéllein⟩ “to send to”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of a letter.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==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''.^(OLD 2012) 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.^(OLD 2012) It also meant a literary composition in the form of a letter, a moral essay, or a preface to the reader, as in Pliny.^(OLD 2012) 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.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ In Ecclesiastical Latin it is usually spelled ''epistola''.^(Stelten 1995) Old English ''epistol'' and Old French ''epistle'' gave [[en|epistle]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a letter.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of receiving letters ''pluribus epistulīs'' “in several dispatches”.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses ''ab epistulīs'' of a secretary.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A letter, written message, [[m|en|dispatch]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(law)'' An imperial [[m|en|rescript]] answering a petition separately.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''ab epistulīs'', a [[m|en|secretary]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # A literary composition in letter form; a moral essay; a preface.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[epistolicus]]

+ * [[epistulāris]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[littera]]

+ * [[en|epistle]]

+ * [[en|epistolary]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}