pistle

English

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English pistel, pistle (“letter; epistle”) [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

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 ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
  3. ^ “† pistle, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2023.

Anagrams

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