epistolary
- 1Written in the form or style of letters, as an exchange of correspondence would be.
The novel's epistolary form lets each character tell the story in their own voice.
Her latest film borrows an epistolary structure, unfolding through letters read aloud.
UsageUsual company: epistolary novel, epistolary form, epistolary style.
Note
This sense belongs to storytelling: epistolary novel, epistolary form and epistolary style are its usual company, and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) is a famous case, told through letters, diary entries and newspaper cuttings. The label now stretches to stories built from emails, texts or other documents, even with no letters. The letters are the author's device, which is what separates it from the sense of real correspondence, where an epistolary friendship or debate was carried on by people who truly wrote to each other.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, first published in 1897. britishlibrary.cn
- Dracula tells its story through letters, diary entries and newspaper cuttings. bramstokerestate.com
- 2Relating to letters or the writing of letters, or carried on through an exchange of letters.
Victorian epistolary etiquette had rules for every kind of letter, from condolence to complaint.
The archive's four hundred letters document the poet's epistolary friendships.
UsageSounds learned and suits description more than talk: epistolary etiquette, an epistolary archive.
Note
Epistle is its close relative: both come from Latin epistola, "letter", which goes back to a Greek verb meaning "I send a message". English took the adjective in the 1620s, and it still sounds learned beside plain letter-writing.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Epistolary and epistle share the Latin ancestor epistola, meaning letter. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin epistola ultimately derives from a Greek verb meaning to send a message. en.wiktionary.org
- The English adjective is recorded in the 1620s. en.wiktionary.org
Less common meaning
- 3A Christian liturgical book containing the set readings from the New Testament Epistles for church services.
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Practice
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Origin
Ancient Greek epí ("upon") and stéllō ("I prepare, send") formed epistéllō ("I send a message"), which gave epistolḗ. Latin borrowed this as epistola ("letter," compare epistle) and formed epistolārius from it. English epistolary comes from this Latin adjective and is recorded from the 1620s. For the noun, compare Old English pistelari and Middle English pistelarie, both derived from Medieval Latin epistolārium.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts
- Ancient Greek epí meant “upon” and stéllō meant “I prepare, send”; together they formed epistéllō. en.wiktionary.org
- Epistéllō meant “I send a message” and gave rise to epistolḗ. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin borrowed Greek epistolḗ as epistola, meaning “letter”. en.wiktionary.org
- English epistle is etymologically related through Latin epistola. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin formed epistolārius from epistola. en.wiktionary.org
- English epistolary derives from Latin epistolārius and is recorded in the 1620s. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English pistelari and Middle English pistelarie both derive from Medieval Latin epistolārium. en.wiktionary.org