# epistolary

Pronunciation: US say "i-PIS-tuh-lair-ee" /ɪˈpɪstəˌlɛɹi/; UK say "i-PIS-tuh-luh-ree" /ɪˈpɪst(ə)ˌl(ə)ɹi/

## Adjective

1. Written in the form or style of letters, as an exchange of correspondence would be.
   - Simple: Written in the form of letters.
   - _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._
2. Relating to letters or the writing of letters, or carried on through an exchange of letters.
   - Simple: About letters or writing letters, or done by sending letters to each other.
   - _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._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A Christian liturgical book containing the set readings from the New Testament Epistles for church services.

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/epistolary (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).