epistolary

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The Word of the Day for February 23 is:

epistolary   \ih-PIST-uh-lair-ee\   adjective
     1 : of, relating to, or suitable to a letter 
    *2 : contained in or carried on by letters
     3 : written in the form of a series of letters

Example sentence: 
     Pen pals Walter and Iris kept their epistolary relationship alive for
20 years before finally meeting in person.

Did you know?
     "Epistolary" is formed from the noun "epistle," which refers to a
composition written in the form of a letter to a particular person or
group. In its original sense, "epistle" refers to one of the 21 letters
(such as those from the apostle Paul) found in the New Testament. Dating
from the 13th century, "epistle" came to English via Anglo-French and
Latin from the Greek noun "epistole," meaning "message" or "letter."
"Epistole," in turn, came from the verb "epistellein," meaning "to send
to" or "to send from." "Epistolary" appeared in English four centuries
after "epistle" and can be used to describe something that is contained in
a letter (as in "epistolary greetings") or composed of letters (as in "an
epistolary novel").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.



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