pistle

English

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English pistel, pistle (“letter; literary work in letter form; written legend or story; spoken communication; (Christianity) one of the letters by an apostle in the New Testament; extract from such a letter read as part of the Mass”) [and other forms],[1] from Old English pistol (“letter, epistle”), an aphetic form of epistol, epistola,[2] from Latin epistola (“letter, epistle; literary work in letter form”): see further at epistle.

The verb is derived from the noun.[3]

cognates

Pronunciation

Noun

pistle (plural pistles)

  1. (archaic or obsolete) Synonym of epistle
  2. (obsolete) A story conveyed verbally.

Translations
synonym of epistle — see epistle

Verb

pistle (third-person singular simple present pistles, present participle pistling, simple past and past participle pistled)

  1. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To write about (someone or something) in, or in the form of, a letter.

References
  1. “epistel, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. Compare “pistle, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
  3. “† pistle, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2023.

Anagrams
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