Epistolam

Epistolam is the accusative singular form of the Latin noun epistola, meaning a letter or written message. In Latin, an epistola denotes a written communication addressed to a person, as well as the broader concept of a letter exchanged between individuals. The term epistola derives from the Greek epistolē, via Latin, and has given rise to the English word epistle.

In classical usage, epistola refers to private letters, official communiqués, or literary letters. The typical verbs used with it include scribere epistolam (to write a letter) and mittere epistolam (to send a letter). As a literary form, epistola also names a genre of writing composed as letters, often used to convey philosophy, politics, or personal reflection.

Historical significance is evident in the letter collections of authors such as Cicero and Pliny the Younger, whose epistulae provide valuable insights into contemporary life, rhetoric, and governance. In later Latin, epistola appears in religious and scholarly contexts as the term for correspondence, including the biblical epistles known in English as epistles (epistolae) of the New Testament, typically titled with the name of the author and recipient, such as Epistola Pauli ad Romanos.

The word epistolam appears regularly in Latin texts as the direct object in sentences like scribere epistolam or mittere epistolam. Today, epistola remains the standard Latin term for a letter, and its forms—epistola, epistolae, epistolas, epistolam—illustrate its first-declension noun behavior.