pistle

English

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English pistel, pistle (“letter; literary work in letter form; written legend or story; spoken communication; (Christianity) one of the letters by an apostle in the New Testament; extract from such a letter read as part of the Mass”) [and other forms], from Old English pistol (“letter, epistle”), an aphetic form of epistol, epistola, from Latin epistola (“letter, epistle; literary work in letter form”): see further at epistle.

The verb is derived from the noun.

cognates

• Scots pistil, pistle

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪsl̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪs(ə)l/
• Rhymes: -ɪsəl
• Hyphenation: pis‧tle

Noun

pistle (plural pistles)

1. (archaic or obsolete) Synonym of epistle
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts xv:[30], folio clxxvij, verso:

     when they were departed / they cam to Antioche and gaddred the multitude togedder and delivered the piſtle.

2. (obsolete) A story conveyed verbally.

Translations

synonym of epistle — see epistle

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.

Anagrams

• pliest, stipel, tiples