/ ɪˈpɪsl; NAmE / noun
1.
Epistle any of the letters in the New Testament of the Bible, written by the first people who followed Christ :
the Epistles of St Paul
2.
( formal or humorous ) a long, serious letter on an important subject
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English , via Latin from Greek epistolē , from epistellein send news, from epi upon, in addition + stellein send. The word was reintroduced in Middle English from Old French .