Meanings
plural pistles
- archaicobsoleteSynonym of epistle.
when they were departed / they cam to Antioche and gaddred the multitude togedder and delivered the piſtle.
1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts xv:[30], folio clxxvij, versoSynonyms: epistle
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of epistle.
Origin
- Latinepistola“letter, epistle; literary work in letter form”
- Old Englishpistol“letter, epistle”
- Middle Englishpistel
- Englishpistle
The noun is derived from Middle English pistel, pistle (“letter; epistle”) [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
More words from Middle English, Old English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with pistle
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
pistle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pistle
“pistle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pistle. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pistle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pistle.
Source: pistle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.