EPISTLE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Epistle mean? 

• EPISTLE (noun)
  The noun EPISTLE has 2 senses:

1. a specially long, formal letter

2. a book of the New Testament written in the form of a letter from an Apostle

  Familiarity information: EPISTLE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EPISTLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A specially long, formal letter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("epistle" is a kind of...):

letter; missive (a written message addressed to a person or organization)

Derivation:

epistolary (written in the form of or carried on by letters or correspondence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A book of the New Testament written in the form of a letter from an Apostle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("Epistle" is a kind of...):

book (a major division of a long written composition)

Instance hyponyms:

First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians; First Epistle to the Corinthians; I Corinthians (a New Testament book containing the first epistle from Saint Paul to the church at Corinth)

Epistle of Jude; Jude (a New Testament book attributed to Saint Jude)

III John; Third Epistel of John (the third New Testament epistle traditionally attributed to Saint John the Apostle)

II John; Second Epistel of John (the second New Testament epistle traditionally attributed to Saint John the Apostle)

First Epistle of John; I John (the first New Testament epistle traditionally attributed to Saint John the Apostle)

II Peter; Second Epistle of Peter (the second New Testament book traditionally attributed to Saint Peter the Apostle)

First Epistle of Peter; I Peter (the first New Testament book traditionally attributed to Saint Peter the Apostle)

Epistle of James; James (a New Testament book attributed to Saint James the Apostle)

Epistle to the Hebrews; Hebrews (a New Testament book traditionally included among the epistle of Saint Paul but now generally considered not to have been written by him)

Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Philemon; Epistle to Philemon; Philemon (a New Testament book containing an epistle from Saint Paul to Philemon asking Philemon to forgive the slave for escaping)

Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Titus; Epistle to Titus; Titus (a New Testament book containing Saint Paul's epistle to Titus; contains advice on pastoral matters)

II Timothy; Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy; Second Epistle to Timothy (a New Testament book containing Saint Paul's second epistle to Timothy; contains advice on pastoral matters)

First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy; First Epistle to Timothy; I Timothy (a New Testament book containing Saint Paul's first epistle to Timothy; contains advice on pastoral matters)

II Thessalonians; Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians; Second Epistle to the Thessalonians (a New Testament book containing Saint Paul's second epistle to the Thessalonians)

First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians; First Epistle to the Thessalonians; I Thessalonians (a New Testament book containing Saint Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians)

Colossians; Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians; Epistle to the Colossians (a New Testament book containing an epistle from Saint Paul to the Colossians in ancient Phrygia)

Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians; Epistle to the Philippians; Philippians (a New Testament book containing an epistle from Saint Paul to the church at Philippi in Macedonia)

Ephesians; Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians; Epistle to the Ephesians (a New Testament book containing the epistle from Saint Paul to the Ephesians which explains the divine plan for the world and the consummation of this in Christ)

Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians; Epistle to the Galatians; Galatians (a New Testament book containing the epistle from Saint Paul to the Galatians)

II Corinthians; Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians; Second Epistle to the Corinthians (a New Testament book containing the second epistle from Saint Paul to the church at Corinth)

Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans; Epistle to the Romans; Romans (a New Testament book containing an exposition of the doctrines of Saint Paul; written in AD 58)

Holonyms ("Epistle" is a part of...):

New Testament (the collection of books of the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline and other epistles, and Revelation; composed soon after Christ's death; the second half of the Christian Bible)

 Context examples 

“Here is a very fashionable epistle,” I remarked as he entered.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Bless me, Copperfield!”—and then entered on the perusal of Mrs. Micawber's epistle.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

No wonder that letters addressed to people here had never received an answer: as well despatch epistles to a vault in a church aisle.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“What a woman—oh, what a woman!” cried the King of Bohemia, when we had all three read this epistle.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I never could have derived anything like the pleasure from spending the money Mr. Dick had given me, that I felt in sending a gold half-guinea to Peggotty, per post, enclosed in this last letter, to discharge the sum I had borrowed of her: in which epistle, not before, I mentioned about the young man with the donkey-cart.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon the outer side of his right little finger, remarked Holmes as he folded up the epistle.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is not my intention, he continued reading on, to enter on a detailed list, within the compass of the present epistle (though it is ready elsewhere), of the various malpractices of a minor nature, affecting the individual whom I have denominated Mr. W., to which I have been a tacitly consenting party.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)