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Now for this week’s cognate duo.
epistle — a formal or elegant letter or a composition in the form of a letter
epístola — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning
(epistola — the Italian cognate of the same meaning)
(epistola — the Latin cognate of the same meaning)
If you attend church, you may be familiar with this word from the New Testament Epistles, but maybe you didn’t know that it meant that those were letters that been adopted as books within the New Testament. I’ve included above the Latin cognate because that came from the Greek epistole, meaning “message” or something written that was “sent.” Those original “letters” were written in Greek and then translated to Latin, and then from Latin, the word passed into other Romance languages like Italian and Spanish and then into our Germanic language of English.
I, however, am far more familiar with the word “epistle” from literature. I tend to read older books, and in them you will find people sending “epistles” to their loved ones. Many novels are written in an “epistolary” or “epistolic” fashion. This means that they are written in the form of a series of letters. “Epistolic” is “epistolico” in both Spanish and Italian.
My favorite “epistolary” novel is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. If you’ve never read it, I encourage you to do so. The movie adaptation of it starring Lily James is well done, but the book is phenomenal.
Returning to church for a moment, if you are asked to read one of the “Epistles” then you are the “epistoler.” Another term is “epistolist,” but this can also refer to the person who writes the “epistle.” In Spanish, those terms are “epistolero” and “epistolista,” so you can see that they continue to be cognates.
Not knowing these words and their association with letter writing, I’m sure most people would assume they had something to do with “pistols,” but they do not. Ha, ha.
If you “epistolize” then you write a letter. In Spanish, that becomes “epistolizar.” Thus, in a way, right now I am epistolizing to you and sending this epistle via email instead of via the traditional letter box.
Do you enjoy music? Here is a link to Songs About Letter Writing and Sending Mail that I enjoyed: Letter songs
Until next time — next Monday if you are a paying subscriber or the Monday after next if you choose to only receive the free ones.
Have a great week. May your mailbox be full of epistles and not junk mail or bills.
Tammy Marshall
Epistle