epistlen.

Brit.

/ᵻˈpɪsl/, U.S.

/ᵻˈpɪs(ə)l/

Forms:

α. Old English epistola, Old English 1500s (1800s rare) epistol, Middle English–1500s epistoll, Middle English–1500s epistolle, Middle English–1500s epystole, Middle English–1600s epistole; Scottish pre-1700 epistole, pre-1700 epistoll, pre-1700 epistule.

β. Middle English apistille, Middle English epesteles (plural), Middle English epistille, Middle English epystil, Middle English epystyl, Middle English–1500s epistelle, Middle English–1500s epistil, Middle English–1500s epistyll, Middle English–1500s epystyll, Middle English–1600s epistel, Middle English–1600s epystle, Middle English– epistle, 1500s epystell, 1500s–1600s epestle, 1500s–1600s epistell; Scottish pre-1700 epistel, pre-1700 epistil, pre-1700 epistill, pre-1700 epistyll, pre-1700 epystil, pre-1700 epystill, pre-1700 1700s– epistle.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Latin epistola; French epistle.

Etymology: Originally (in Old English) < (i) classical Latin epistola (also epistula: see below). Subsequently reborrowed < (ii) Anglo-Norman and Middle French epistle, Middle French epistele, epistole, epistolle (Anglo-Norman and Middle French epistre , epitre , French épître : see note) letter (12th cent. in Old French), any of various books in the New Testament originating as apostolic letters to Christian communities and individuals (12th cent. as apistle ), reading from one of the Epistles of the New Testament as part of a church service (end of the 14th cent. or earlier; the sense ‘literary work in the form of a letter’ is not paralleled in French until later than in English: a1519) < classical Latin epistola (also epistula ) written communication, letters, dispatch, imperial rescript, literary composition in the form of a letter, letter to the reader, preface, in post-classical Latin also letter from an apostle, forming part of the canon of Scripture (early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), extract from one of the apostolic Epistles read as part of a church service (from 10th cent. in British sources) < ancient Greek ἐπιστολή message, communication, written communication, letter, in Hellenistic Greek also letter from an apostle < ἐπι- epi- prefix + στολή (see stole n.¹), after ἐπιστέλλειν to send a message, to command. Compare the aphetic doublet pistle n.Forms in other European languages. The Latin word was borrowed into other European languages at an early date; in many languages both forms with and without an initial vowel are attested. Compare: Middle Dutch epistele (Dutch epistel ), Middle Low German epistel , epistele , epistole , Old High German epistula (Middle High German epistole , pistel , German Epistel ), Old Icelandic pistill , pistuli (Icelandic pistill ), and also Gothic aipistaule ( < Greek); Old Occitan apistola (1265, denoting the Bible), pistola , Catalan epístola ̈ (12th cent.), Spanish epístola (13th cent.; 12th cent. as †pistola ), Portuguese epístola (13th cent.; also †pistola ), Italian epistola (13th cent.; 12th cent. as †pistola ); Early Irish epistil (Irish eipistil ). Anglo-Norman and Middle French epistre , French épître show the same phonological development as e.g. chapitre chapter n., pupitre pulpit n. Form history in Old English. In Old English attested both as a strong masculine (epistol ) and as a weak masculine (epistola ); epistola also occurs (in one instance) with Latin case inflections. The aphetic form pistol pistle n. is much commoner.

a. A letter, esp. one of a literary, formal, or public nature. Now frequently literary or humorous.In the King James version of the Bible (1611) the word does not occur in the Old Testament (but occasionally in the Apocrypha); in the New Testament it appears only in sense 2a or analogous uses, letter being used in other cases. Until the 19th cent. it was common to refer to the letters of classical authors such as Cicero or Pliny as epistles, but letters is now the usual word in such cases.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun]

epistleeOE

pistleOE

writOE

letter?c1225

brief1330

writingc1384

missive letter1519

scroll1534

missive?1553

scrieve1581

favour1645

chitty1698

chit1757

mail letter1799

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. xi. 78 Eall heora gewinn awæcnedon ærest from Alexandres epistole [L. epistula].

OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. iv. 38 Þa þe æfterfylgendan dæge sona on dægred com ærendraca to Iuliane mid epistolan [OE Otho epistole, OE Hatton ærendgewrite, L. epistola].

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. xv. 1 The kyng Antiochus..sente epistilis [L. epistulas]..to Symont.

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 501 For þere was som Epistel hem by-twene.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 109 But truly Seynte Ierom in his epistole [L. epistola] to Eugenius expressethe.

1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 43 And he wrotte an epistoll to Alexandre.

1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 121/1 Holye sainct Austyn in an epystle of hys whyche he wrote to the clargy and the people.

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 1^v The three Concordances learned..let the master read vnto hym the Epistles of Cicero.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iii. 149 I will drop in his way some obscure Epistles of loue.

1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. i. 1 Epistles, or (according to the word in use) Familiar Letters, may be call'd the larum bell of Love.

1686 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II II. vii. 1083 That there was..a Bishop in Philadelphia, is abundantly evident from Ignatius his Epistle to that Church.

1706 J. Logan in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1872) X. 165 I was so jaded with long epistles.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. 129 In the epistle or manifesto which he [sc. Julian] himself addressed to the senate and people of Athens.

1839 E. Bulwer-Lytton Richelieu ii. i Wide flew the doors..lo, Messire de Beringhen, and this epistle!

1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirlaugh III. 143 It was no uncommon thing for the epistles to lie many days in the post-office window.

1909 Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 160/2 I could fancy her..writing lengthy epistles to a tribe of nieces.

1998 Canad. Geogr. Catal. Spring 5/1 Your epistles will be more impressive if they're written on classy Maple Leaf Stationery.

b. A literary work in the form of a letter, usually in verse.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > types of poem according to form > [noun] > verse epistle

epistlec1430

c1430 (c1395) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) Prol. l. 305 What seyth also the epistelle of Ouyde.

a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 65 Ambrose..þat wrot many notabel bokes and episteles.

1608 Bp. J. Hall Epist. I. Ep. Ded. sig. A3^v Further..your Grace shal herein perceiue a new fashion of discourse, by Epistles; new to our language.

1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. a3^v Horace, in his First Epistle of the Second Book.

1714 Spectator No. 618. ⁋3 Let our Poet, while he writes Epistles, though never so familiar, still remember that he writes in Verse.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Term Epistle is now scarce used, but for Letters wrote in Verse; and Letters Dedicatory.

1800 T. Churchill tr. J. G. Herder Outl. Philos. Hist. Man xiv. vi. 433 To purchase the Æneid of a Virgil, and the tranquil muse and urbane epistles of a Horace.

1904 A. A. Tilley Lit. of French Renaissance I. i. iv. 68 Marot, on his return to Paris, flayed his opponents,..in an Epistle purporting to be written by his valet, Fripelipes.

1992 Washington Post (Nexis) 7 June e2 There are no ballads by..Horace, whose odes, epodes, satires and epistles are as popular as ever.

c. A preface or letter of dedication addressed to a patron or to the reader, at the beginning of a literary work. In later use only with modifying word (frequently a postmodifier), as prefatory epistle, epistle dedicatory (cf. dedicatory adj.). Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > [noun] > prologue or introduction

forespeechc1000

prologuec1350

proemya1382

preamblec1395

proemc1410

exordyc1430

prolocutory1447

protocolc1450

forespeaking1480

preface1484

prooemiumc1485

preparation1526

introduction1529

induction1533

introducement1536

epistle?1548

prelude1548

proposition1553

foretalk1565

exordium1581

prolegomenons1600

inducement1605

isagoge1652

propylaeum1693

programma1711

foreword1842

foretalking1872

programme1880

pronaos1894

peritext1977

epitext1978

?1548 tr. J. Calvin Faythfull Treat. Sacrament (new ed.) (title page) He hath set before this lytle booke an epistle to the reader much more effectuous then in the fyrst edicion.

1590 ‘Pasquil’ First Pt. Pasquils Apol. sig. B2^v Hauing giuen many hisses of the old serpent against his betters, in the Epistle to the treatise, in the treatise it selfe he begins to rolle vp his head within his scales.

1605 R. Verstegan Restit. Decayed Intelligence Pref. Ep. To beginne his epistle (to a huge volume) with Constantine the great [etc.].

1637 Decree Starre-Chamber conc. Printing ii. sig. B2 All and euery the Titles, Epistles, Prefaces, Proems, Preambles, [etc.].

1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler Ep. Ded. 6 I shall not adventure to make this Epistle longer.

1701 J. Crook Cry of Innocent for Justice in Design Christianity 147 (heading) An epistle to all moderate readers.

1795 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 931/2 A prefatory epistle to William Stevens, Esq. the Bishop's first cousin.

1845 Bibliotheca Sacra May 333 In the epistle prefatory to Calvin's Commentary upon the Psalms, we have an expression of the feeling of the man as he looked back upon his childhood and traced the dealings of God with him.

1903 Mod. Lang. Q. Dec. 128/1 The volume has an epistle dedicatory in Latin.

1978 Stud. in Eng. Lit.: Eng. Number (Tokyo) 22 The title-page and such preliminaries as the epistle dedicatory..seem to have been last to be printed in sheet A.

2005 Times Lit. Suppl. 6 May 23/2 A fascinating analysis of the prefatory epistle to Troilus and Cressida.

2. Christian Church.

a. Any of various books in the New Testament which originated as apostolic letters to Christian communities and individuals.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > New Testament > epistle > [noun]

epistleeOE

pistleOE

Romen1397

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xvii. 117 Ðæt he [sc. Paul] cyðde ða he cuæð on his epistolan to Galatum: Hwæðer wille ge ðæt ic cume to eow?

OE Homily (Otho C.i) in Anglo-Saxon Eng. 26 (1997) 218 Eala hu micel yfel seo tunge hafað on hire seolfre, swa hit is geleornad on þæs halgan Iacobes epistole.

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 179 Þe apostle..seið in his epistle.

c1384 Prol. Catholic Epist. (N.Y. Publ. Lib.) in Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (1850) IV. 594 These epistolis to ther owne ordre..we han ȝolden... If as of hem thei weren mad, so also of interpretouris, or vndoeris, in to Latyn speche thei were turned treuly, neither doute to men redende thei shulde make.

a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 277 Poul telliþ in þis epistle of fredom of Cristene men.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 149 To whom Paule did wryte an epistole.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Bii^v The ordinary glose vpon the first epistle of saynt Poule to the Corinthes dothe expresse, that [etc.].

1578 Gude & Godlie Ball. (1868) 63 The Lordis Supper, as it is writtin in the first Epistil to the Cor. xj. Chap.

c1604 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 106 The Evangiles and Acts, teach us what to beleeve, but the Epistles of the Apostles what to do.

1695 J. Locke Reasonableness Christianity in Wks. (1794) VI. 152 I answer, that the epistles were written upon several occasions.

1704 R. Nelson Compan. Festivals & Fasts i. xxix. 316 This Epistle..is..an excellent Antidote against the Poison of Gnostick Principles.

1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man ii. ii. 78 When the Genuineness of the Acts of the Apostles, and of St. Paul's Epistles, is thus deduced, the Truth of the Facts mentioned in them will follow from it.

1828 E. B. Pusey Hist. Enq. Rationalist Char. I. i. 144 The sole object of the Epistle to the Romans, was to oppose the particularism of the Jews, and to prove that the heathen also might attain eternal life.

1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity II. 483 Eusebius and Origen seem to have regarded the Epistles [John I, II, III] as genuine.

1921 J. J. Ross Thinking through New Test. xi. 122 This epistle... surely is the one book of the New Testament of the heavenly places or super-celestials.

1957 F. L. Cross Oxf. Dict. Christian Church at Marcionite Prologues It was Marcionite teachers at Rome who first translated the Pauline Epistles from Greek into Latin.

2000 A. Shanks in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 524/2 All the epistles, apart from Hebrews, James, and 1 John, open with a greeting.

b. Frequently with capital initial. A reading forming part of a church service (esp. the Eucharist), usually from one of the Epistles of the New Testament.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > parts of service > epistle > [noun]

pistleOE

epistlea1450

a1450 Ordination of Nuns (Vesp.) in E. A. Kock Rule St. Benet (1902) 145 (MED) Þe offece of þe mese sall be ‘Salue, sancta parens.’ Þe Epistil & þe godspel..als þe tyme of þe ȝer askes.

1491 in J. Cooper Cartularium Eccl. St. Nicholai Aberdonensis (1888) I. 256 The epistill of the mes.

a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 373 The bere seid the masse; The asse redde the apistille; The Oxe redde the gospell.

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxij^v The priest, or he that is appointed, shall reade the Epistle.

1578 Gude & Godlie Ball. (1868) 63 Ane Ballat of the Epistill on Christinmes Euin.

1655 A. Sparrow Rationale Bk. Common Prayer 44 This Sunday..the Epistle and Gospel treat about the same businesse, the birth of Christ.

1662 Bk. Common Prayer Communion Immediately after the Collect the Priest shall read the Epistle.

1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Epistler, he who reads the Epistles in a Cathedral Church.

1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. II. 133 Two desks..on which formerly the epistles and gospels were read.

1840 L. S. Costello Summer amongst Bocages & Vines I. ii. 19 He assured them that he was come from Rome, where he had sung the epistle.

1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship Eng. 326 The other Clergy may sit during the Epistle.

1897 M. A. R. Tuker Liturgy in Rome (1900) i. 23 The troping of the Christmas epistle commences thus : Boene genz por qui suavement Diex de char vestir se deigna.

1929 (title) Collects, Epistles and Gospels of the Prayer Book in Bemba.

1954 Grove's Dict. Music (ed. 5) IV. 484/1 The metrum is the same for the Epistle and Gospel... The punctum differs; that for the Epistle is as follows... The punctum for the Gospel is a drop of a minor third.

2012 Church Times 13 Jan. 16/2 Today we are used to seeing a layperson in everyday clothes stand at the lectern to read the epistle.

Compounds

C1. General attributive and objective, as epistle book, epistle writer, etc.

ΚΠ

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. ix. f. 139^v My epistell booke [L. libello epistolari] whiche I sente vnto yowre holynes.

1692 C. Gildon Post-boy rob'd of his Mail I. Ep. Ded. sig. A4^v Discover the difference betwixt these Letters..and those which some Epistle-Writers have publish'd for Examples for the World to Copy after.

1776 London Rev. Eng. & Foreign Lit. Feb. 151 We think the poetical genius of this epistle-writer [sc. Lord Melcombe] hardly ever soars above the level of a commoner.

1859 A. Trollope Bertrams xvii. 175 It was good-humoured, playful, almost witty; too much so for Miss Baker's unassisted epistle-craft, and he at once saw that Caroline had dictated it.

1882 R. B. Westbrook Bible, Whence & What? iv. 36 Paul, the great Epistle-writer, seems not to have been ashamed of his crookedness.

1951 Brit. Museum Q. 16 5 An Epistle-Book made for the Sainte Chapelle at Paris..belongs also to the same school of illumination.

1994 Irish Times (Nexis) 9 Apr. (Suppl.) 9 The epistle-writer also recalls a childhood experience, that of being caught smoking aged eight.

C2.

epistle side n. Christian Church the south end of an altar, from which the Epistle is traditionally read. [Probably after post-classical Latin latus epistolae (1595 or earlier); compare German Epistelseite (1620 or earlier), French côté d'épître (1665 or earlier as †costé de l'epistre).]

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > altar > parts of altar > [noun] > south side of

epistle side1885

1648 Moderate Intelligencer No. 195. 1785 The King of Hungarie approached the Altar with the Imperiall Princesse..setting himself on the Epistle-side.

1734 tr. Ceremonies & Relig. Customs Var. Nations II. 18 The Epistle-Side, where the Sub-Deacon usually assists at the Beginning of Mass.

1792 Abstr. Douay Catech. 114 At the End of the Epistle..return to the opposite or Epistle Side.

1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Apr. 10/2 The Epistle side of the altar.

1995 S. Bend (Indiana) Tribune (Nexis) 16 Apr. e7 I became a full-fledged altar boy, privileged to light the candles and carry the big book from the epistle side to the gospel side.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	epistle
释义	epistlen. Brit. /ᵻˈpɪsl/, U.S. /ᵻˈpɪs(ə)l/ Forms: α. Old English epistola, Old English 1500s (1800s rare) epistol, Middle English–1500s epistoll, Middle English–1500s epistolle, Middle English–1500s epystole, Middle English–1600s epistole; Scottish pre-1700 epistole, pre-1700 epistoll, pre-1700 epistule. β. Middle English apistille, Middle English epesteles (plural), Middle English epistille, Middle English epystil, Middle English epystyl, Middle English–1500s epistelle, Middle English–1500s epistil, Middle English–1500s epistyll, Middle English–1500s epystyll, Middle English–1600s epistel, Middle English–1600s epystle, Middle English– epistle, 1500s epystell, 1500s–1600s epestle, 1500s–1600s epistell; Scottish pre-1700 epistel, pre-1700 epistil, pre-1700 epistill, pre-1700 epistyll, pre-1700 epystil, pre-1700 epystill, pre-1700 1700s– epistle. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Latin epistola; French epistle. Etymology: Originally (in Old English) < (i) classical Latin epistola (also epistula: see below). Subsequently reborrowed < (ii) Anglo-Norman and Middle French epistle, Middle French epistele, epistole, epistolle (Anglo-Norman and Middle French epistre , epitre , French épître : see note) letter (12th cent. in Old French), any of various books in the New Testament originating as apostolic letters to Christian communities and individuals (12th cent. as apistle ), reading from one of the Epistles of the New Testament as part of a church service (end of the 14th cent. or earlier; the sense ‘literary work in the form of a letter’ is not paralleled in French until later than in English: a1519) < classical Latin epistola (also epistula ) written communication, letters, dispatch, imperial rescript, literary composition in the form of a letter, letter to the reader, preface, in post-classical Latin also letter from an apostle, forming part of the canon of Scripture (early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), extract from one of the apostolic Epistles read as part of a church service (from 10th cent. in British sources) < ancient Greek ἐπιστολή message, communication, written communication, letter, in Hellenistic Greek also letter from an apostle < ἐπι- epi- prefix + στολή (see stole n.¹), after ἐπιστέλλειν to send a message, to command. Compare the aphetic doublet pistle n.Forms in other European languages. The Latin word was borrowed into other European languages at an early date; in many languages both forms with and without an initial vowel are attested. Compare: Middle Dutch epistele (Dutch epistel ), Middle Low German epistel , epistele , epistole , Old High German epistula (Middle High German epistole , pistel , German Epistel ), Old Icelandic pistill , pistuli (Icelandic pistill ), and also Gothic aipistaule ( < Greek); Old Occitan apistola (1265, denoting the Bible), pistola , Catalan epístola ̈ (12th cent.), Spanish epístola (13th cent.; 12th cent. as †pistola ), Portuguese epístola (13th cent.; also †pistola ), Italian epistola (13th cent.; 12th cent. as †pistola ); Early Irish epistil (Irish eipistil ). Anglo-Norman and Middle French epistre , French épître show the same phonological development as e.g. chapitre chapter n., pupitre pulpit n. Form history in Old English. In Old English attested both as a strong masculine (epistol ) and as a weak masculine (epistola ); epistola also occurs (in one instance) with Latin case inflections. The aphetic form pistol pistle n. is much commoner. 1. a. A letter, esp. one of a literary, formal, or public nature. Now frequently literary or humorous.In the King James version of the Bible (1611) the word does not occur in the Old Testament (but occasionally in the Apocrypha); in the New Testament it appears only in sense 2a or analogous uses, letter being used in other cases. Until the 19th cent. it was common to refer to the letters of classical authors such as Cicero or Pliny as epistles, but letters is now the usual word in such cases. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun] epistleeOE pistleOE writOE letter?c1225 brief1330 writingc1384 missive letter1519 scroll1534 missive?1553 scrieve1581 favour1645 chitty1698 chit1757 mail letter1799 eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. xi. 78 Eall heora gewinn awæcnedon ærest from Alexandres epistole [L. epistula]. OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. iv. 38 Þa þe æfterfylgendan dæge sona on dægred com ærendraca to Iuliane mid epistolan [OE Otho epistole, OE Hatton ærendgewrite, L. epistola]. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. xv. 1 The kyng Antiochus..sente epistilis [L. epistulas]..to Symont. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 501 For þere was som Epistel hem by-twene. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 109 But truly Seynte Ierom in his epistole [L. epistola] to Eugenius expressethe. 1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 43 And he wrotte an epistoll to Alexandre. 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 121/1 Holye sainct Austyn in an epystle of hys whyche he wrote to the clargy and the people. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 1^v The three Concordances learned..let the master read vnto hym the Epistles of Cicero. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iii. 149 I will drop in his way some obscure Epistles of loue. View more context for this quotation 1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. i. 1 Epistles, or (according to the word in use) Familiar Letters, may be call'd the larum bell of Love. 1686 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II II. vii. 1083 That there was..a Bishop in Philadelphia, is abundantly evident from Ignatius his Epistle to that Church. 1706 J. Logan in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1872) X. 165 I was so jaded with long epistles. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. 129 In the epistle or manifesto which he [sc. Julian] himself addressed to the senate and people of Athens. 1839 E. Bulwer-Lytton Richelieu ii. i Wide flew the doors..lo, Messire de Beringhen, and this epistle! 1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirlaugh III. 143 It was no uncommon thing for the epistles to lie many days in the post-office window. 1909 Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 160/2 I could fancy her..writing lengthy epistles to a tribe of nieces. 1998 Canad. Geogr. Catal. Spring 5/1 Your epistles will be more impressive if they're written on classy Maple Leaf Stationery. b. A literary work in the form of a letter, usually in verse. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > types of poem according to form > [noun] > verse epistle epistlec1430 c1430 (c1395) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) Prol. l. 305 What seyth also the epistelle of Ouyde. a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 65 Ambrose..þat wrot many notabel bokes and episteles. 1608 Bp. J. Hall Epist. I. Ep. Ded. sig. A3^v Further..your Grace shal herein perceiue a new fashion of discourse, by Epistles; new to our language. 1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. a3^v Horace, in his First Epistle of the Second Book. 1714 Spectator No. 618. ⁋3 Let our Poet, while he writes Epistles, though never so familiar, still remember that he writes in Verse. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Term Epistle is now scarce used, but for Letters wrote in Verse; and Letters Dedicatory. 1800 T. Churchill tr. J. G. Herder Outl. Philos. Hist. Man xiv. vi. 433 To purchase the Æneid of a Virgil, and the tranquil muse and urbane epistles of a Horace. 1904 A. A. Tilley Lit. of French Renaissance I. i. iv. 68 Marot, on his return to Paris, flayed his opponents,..in an Epistle purporting to be written by his valet, Fripelipes. 1992 Washington Post (Nexis) 7 June e2 There are no ballads by..Horace, whose odes, epodes, satires and epistles are as popular as ever. c. A preface or letter of dedication addressed to a patron or to the reader, at the beginning of a literary work. In later use only with modifying word (frequently a postmodifier), as prefatory epistle, epistle dedicatory (cf. dedicatory adj.). Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > [noun] > prologue or introduction forespeechc1000 prologuec1350 proemya1382 preamblec1395 proemc1410 exordyc1430 prolocutory1447 protocolc1450 forespeaking1480 preface1484 prooemiumc1485 preparation1526 introduction1529 induction1533 introducement1536 epistle?1548 prelude1548 proposition1553 foretalk1565 exordium1581 prolegomenons1600 inducement1605 isagoge1652 propylaeum1693 programma1711 foreword1842 foretalking1872 programme1880 pronaos1894 peritext1977 epitext1978 ?1548 tr. J. Calvin Faythfull Treat. Sacrament (new ed.) (title page) He hath set before this lytle booke an epistle to the reader much more effectuous then in the fyrst edicion. 1590 ‘Pasquil’ First Pt. Pasquils Apol. sig. B2^v Hauing giuen many hisses of the old serpent against his betters, in the Epistle to the treatise, in the treatise it selfe he begins to rolle vp his head within his scales. 1605 R. Verstegan Restit. Decayed Intelligence Pref. Ep. To beginne his epistle (to a huge volume) with Constantine the great [etc.]. 1637 Decree Starre-Chamber conc. Printing ii. sig. B2 All and euery the Titles, Epistles, Prefaces, Proems, Preambles, [etc.]. 1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler Ep. Ded. 6 I shall not adventure to make this Epistle longer. View more context for this quotation 1701 J. Crook Cry of Innocent for Justice in Design Christianity 147 (heading) An epistle to all moderate readers. 1795 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 931/2 A prefatory epistle to William Stevens, Esq. the Bishop's first cousin. 1845 Bibliotheca Sacra May 333 In the epistle prefatory to Calvin's Commentary upon the Psalms, we have an expression of the feeling of the man as he looked back upon his childhood and traced the dealings of God with him. 1903 Mod. Lang. Q. Dec. 128/1 The volume has an epistle dedicatory in Latin. 1978 Stud. in Eng. Lit.: Eng. Number (Tokyo) 22 The title-page and such preliminaries as the epistle dedicatory..seem to have been last to be printed in sheet A. 2005 Times Lit. Suppl. 6 May 23/2 A fascinating analysis of the prefatory epistle to Troilus and Cressida. 2. Christian Church. a. Any of various books in the New Testament which originated as apostolic letters to Christian communities and individuals. ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > New Testament > epistle > [noun] epistleeOE pistleOE Romen1397 eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xvii. 117 Ðæt he [sc. Paul] cyðde ða he cuæð on his epistolan to Galatum: Hwæðer wille ge ðæt ic cume to eow? OE Homily (Otho C.i) in Anglo-Saxon Eng. 26 (1997) 218 Eala hu micel yfel seo tunge hafað on hire seolfre, swa hit is geleornad on þæs halgan Iacobes epistole. c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 179 Þe apostle..seið in his epistle. c1384 Prol. Catholic Epist. (N.Y. Publ. Lib.) in Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (1850) IV. 594 These epistolis to ther owne ordre..we han ȝolden... If as of hem thei weren mad, so also of interpretouris, or vndoeris, in to Latyn speche thei were turned treuly, neither doute to men redende thei shulde make. a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 277 Poul telliþ in þis epistle of fredom of Cristene men. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 149 To whom Paule did wryte an epistole. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Bii^v The ordinary glose vpon the first epistle of saynt Poule to the Corinthes dothe expresse, that [etc.]. 1578 Gude & Godlie Ball. (1868) 63 The Lordis Supper, as it is writtin in the first Epistil to the Cor. xj. Chap. c1604 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 106 The Evangiles and Acts, teach us what to beleeve, but the Epistles of the Apostles what to do. 1695 J. Locke Reasonableness Christianity in Wks. (1794) VI. 152 I answer, that the epistles were written upon several occasions. 1704 R. Nelson Compan. Festivals & Fasts i. xxix. 316 This Epistle..is..an excellent Antidote against the Poison of Gnostick Principles. 1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man ii. ii. 78 When the Genuineness of the Acts of the Apostles, and of St. Paul's Epistles, is thus deduced, the Truth of the Facts mentioned in them will follow from it. 1828 E. B. Pusey Hist. Enq. Rationalist Char. I. i. 144 The sole object of the Epistle to the Romans, was to oppose the particularism of the Jews, and to prove that the heathen also might attain eternal life. 1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity II. 483 Eusebius and Origen seem to have regarded the Epistles [John I, II, III] as genuine. 1921 J. J. Ross Thinking through New Test. xi. 122 This epistle... surely is the one book of the New Testament of the heavenly places or super-celestials. 1957 F. L. Cross Oxf. Dict. Christian Church at Marcionite Prologues It was Marcionite teachers at Rome who first translated the Pauline Epistles from Greek into Latin. 2000 A. Shanks in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 524/2 All the epistles, apart from Hebrews, James, and 1 John, open with a greeting. b. Frequently with capital initial. A reading forming part of a church service (esp. the Eucharist), usually from one of the Epistles of the New Testament. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > parts of service > epistle > [noun] pistleOE epistlea1450 a1450 Ordination of Nuns (Vesp.) in E. A. Kock Rule St. Benet (1902) 145 (MED) Þe offece of þe mese sall be ‘Salue, sancta parens.’ Þe Epistil & þe godspel..als þe tyme of þe ȝer askes. 1491 in J. Cooper Cartularium Eccl. St. Nicholai Aberdonensis (1888) I. 256 The epistill of the mes. a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 373 The bere seid the masse; The asse redde the apistille; The Oxe redde the gospell. 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxij^v The priest, or he that is appointed, shall reade the Epistle. 1578 Gude & Godlie Ball. (1868) 63 Ane Ballat of the Epistill on Christinmes Euin. 1655 A. Sparrow Rationale Bk. Common Prayer 44 This Sunday..the Epistle and Gospel treat about the same businesse, the birth of Christ. 1662 Bk. Common Prayer Communion Immediately after the Collect the Priest shall read the Epistle. 1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Epistler, he who reads the Epistles in a Cathedral Church. 1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. II. 133 Two desks..on which formerly the epistles and gospels were read. 1840 L. S. Costello Summer amongst Bocages & Vines I. ii. 19 He assured them that he was come from Rome, where he had sung the epistle. 1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship Eng. 326 The other Clergy may sit during the Epistle. 1897 M. A. R. Tuker Liturgy in Rome (1900) i. 23 The troping of the Christmas epistle commences thus : Boene genz por qui suavement Diex de char vestir se deigna. 1929 (title) Collects, Epistles and Gospels of the Prayer Book in Bemba. 1954 Grove's Dict. Music (ed. 5) IV. 484/1 The metrum is the same for the Epistle and Gospel... The punctum differs; that for the Epistle is as follows... The punctum for the Gospel is a drop of a minor third. 2012 Church Times 13 Jan. 16/2 Today we are used to seeing a layperson in everyday clothes stand at the lectern to read the epistle. Compounds C1. General attributive and objective, as epistle book, epistle writer, etc. ΚΠ 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. ix. f. 139^v My epistell booke [L. libello epistolari] whiche I sente vnto yowre holynes. 1692 C. Gildon Post-boy rob'd of his Mail I. Ep. Ded. sig. A4^v Discover the difference betwixt these Letters..and those which some Epistle-Writers have publish'd for Examples for the World to Copy after. 1776 London Rev. Eng. & Foreign Lit. Feb. 151 We think the poetical genius of this epistle-writer [sc. Lord Melcombe] hardly ever soars above the level of a commoner. 1859 A. Trollope Bertrams xvii. 175 It was good-humoured, playful, almost witty; too much so for Miss Baker's unassisted epistle-craft, and he at once saw that Caroline had dictated it. 1882 R. B. Westbrook Bible, Whence & What? iv. 36 Paul, the great Epistle-writer, seems not to have been ashamed of his crookedness. 1951 Brit. Museum Q. 16 5 An Epistle-Book made for the Sainte Chapelle at Paris..belongs also to the same school of illumination. 1994 Irish Times (Nexis) 9 Apr. (Suppl.) 9 The epistle-writer also recalls a childhood experience, that of being caught smoking aged eight. C2. epistle side n. Christian Church the south end of an altar, from which the Epistle is traditionally read. [Probably after post-classical Latin latus epistolae (1595 or earlier); compare German Epistelseite (1620 or earlier), French côté d'épître (1665 or earlier as †costé de l'epistre).] ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > altar > parts of altar > [noun] > south side of epistle side1885 1648 Moderate Intelligencer No. 195. 1785 The King of Hungarie approached the Altar with the Imperiall Princesse..setting himself on the Epistle-side. 1734 tr. Ceremonies & Relig. Customs Var. Nations II. 18 The Epistle-Side, where the Sub-Deacon usually assists at the Beginning of Mass. 1792 Abstr. Douay Catech. 114 At the End of the Epistle..return to the opposite or Epistle Side. 1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Apr. 10/2 The Epistle side of the altar. 1995 S. Bend (Indiana) Tribune (Nexis) 16 Apr. e7 I became a full-fledged altar boy, privileged to light the candles and carry the big book from the epistle side to the gospel side. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). epistlev. Brit. /ᵻˈpɪsl/, U.S. /ᵻˈpɪs(ə)l/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: epistle n. Etymology: < epistle n. Compare slightly earlier pistle v. 1. Now frequently literary or humorous. a. transitive. To write (something) in a letter. Also intransitive. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write (a letter) [verb (transitive)] > write (something) in a letter writeOE epistle1596 1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. S When hee hath no bodie to help him, he gets one of his Brothers to Epistle it to him. 1852 Meanderings of Memory I. 35 'Tis noted down—Epistled to the Duke. 1956 Beckley (W. Va.) Post-Herald 12 Oct. 26/1 A letter from Darrell Riffe..finds this reader from Pickaway epistling: ‘In my baseball predictions last spring, my Braves didn't quite make it, so I'm going to try my luck on football.’ 1965 Midland (Texas) Reporter-Telegram 13 July a2/6 It has been epistled down from Washington that a team of research scientists measured 7,000 citizens and has proclaimed that women tend to be wider in the seat than men. 2005 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 15 July 12 When Andy Warhol suggested that eventually everyone would have 15 minutes of fame, I don't think he realised how many of those minutes would be wasted epistling in the wind. b. transitive. To write a letter to (a person). Also intransitive. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write (a letter) [verb (transitive)] > write to addressa1325 bepistle1589 beletter1655 epistolize1702 epistle1741 to tip (one) a stave1838 1741 Mrs. Foley in M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) II. 164 If your fair sister don't epistle me this post. 1837 Courier 19 Sept. 2/2 We have done ‘ Francis Burdett’ an injustice in saying that he offers the Noble Lord, whom he has thus epistled, no shadow of a reason why he fears that ships are fast sinking in public estimation. 1878 Wandsworth & Battersea District Times 20 Apr. 3/1 The experience I had at a mission-room not very long ago, and concerning which I then epistled you. 1935 E. E. Cummings Let. 31 Jan. (1969) 135 Have been epistling with Pound, whom yessed in Paris for a full ½ hour under lurid misapprehension that his ‘Douglas’ rave intended ‘South Wind’. 1952 Phoenix (Arizona) Republic 9 May 6/2 State department heads have been epistled by Z. Simpson Cox, chairman of the Maricopa County Democratic Central Committee, who is helping stage the affair to be held in the Shrine Auditorium. 2. transitive. To write as a preface or introduction; (also) to preface a literary work with. rare.In quot. 1964 echoing quot. 1671. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > write parts of composition [verb (transitive)] > introduce or furnish with prologue > write as prologue or introduction premit?c1425 premisec1450 preface1611 preamble1628 epistle1671 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes Pref. 4 In behalf of this Tragedy..thus much before-hand may be Epistl'd. 1964 E. Dahlberg Alms for Oblivion (1967) 146 Milton epistled his Samson Agonistes with some grave remarks about Aristotle. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.eOEv.1596
随便看	end-process end-product end-ran end-result end-rhyme end-rib enjangle enjealous enjealousy enjeopard enjewel enjeweled enjewelled enjo kosai enjoin enjoin a person to enjoin to enjoinance enjoinder enjoined enjoiner enjoiners enjoining enjoinment enjoinments

epistlen.

Compounds

epistlev.