epistolary
1 of 2adjective
ˌe-pi-ˈstȯ-lə-rē 
The Times Literary Supplement (London)epistolary
2 of 2noun
Did you know?
Epistolary was formed from the noun epistle, which refers to a composition written in the form of a letter to a particular person or group. In its original sense, epistle refers to one of the 21 letters (such as those from the apostle Paul) found in the New Testament. Epistle came to English in the 13th century, via Anglo-French and Latin, from the Greek noun epistolē, meaning "message" or "letter." Epistolē, in turn, came from the verb epistellein, meaning "to send to" or "to send from." Epistolary appeared in English four centuries after epistle and can be used to describe something related to or contained in a letter (as in "epistolary greetings") or composed of letters (as in "an epistolary novel").
Example Sentences
Peter Marks, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2022 An ‘excitedly epistolary’ romance blossomed and seemed to promise more—but ended when the poet suddenly married his secretary. Wsj Books Staff, WSJ, 5 Aug. 2022 Like Love and Friendship, Lesley Castle is an epistolary novel, chronicling the correspondence between two friends. Swarna Gowtham, Town & Country, 1 Aug. 2022 Best scene that never happened in an Austen novel: Because Lady Susan was an epistolary novel, Stillman was tasked with taking the dialogue from the letters and turning them into scenes. Liana Schaffner, Town & Country, 30 June 2022 Rosenthal brings his epistolary jazz opera to Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave., Hartford on April 2 at 8:15 p.m. in a concert version sung by vocalists from the NYC Opera premiere and played by the Ted Rosenthal Trio. Christopher Arnott, courant.com, 25 Mar. 2022 There is an epistolary chapter that reads less like a series of emails than a diagram of human manipulation. Lauren Mechling, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2022 Cowritten by two beloved and award-winning sci-fi writers, this epistolary romantic novel tells the story of two time-traveling rivals who fall in love. Emily Burack, Town & Country, 20 Mar. 2022 Hirshman turns these epistolary spats into page-turning reading, revealing backbiting and pettiness more at home in a teenage clique than in a moral crusade. Lydia Moland, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Feb. 2022 Jeanne Thornton, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 Nov. 2021 In the case of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker, poets and public intellectuals, a friendship to a great extent epistolary flourished despite the geographical distance — Lorde was in New York City, Parker in California. New York Times, 12 Apr. 2021 See More Word History
Adjective
circa 1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
circa 1900, in the meaning defined above