Word of the Day

Wednesday February 10, 2010

missive [MIS-iv]

noun

A letter; a written message.

Among the gems at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford is this four-line missive the author sent to his wife, Olivia, on Nov. 27, 1888: "I am grateful -- gratefuler than ever before -- that you were born, and that your love is mine and our two lives woven and welded together!"

Alison Leigh Cowan, "The Famous, Hearts Gushing", New York Times, Feb 7, 2010
Indeed, ABC's George Stephanopoulos set a precedent when he conducted the first "live Twitterview" with Sen. John McCain last March, trading 140-character missives with the Arizona Republican and yielding real news.

Jennifer Harper, "News association lays down rules on social media use; Puts focus on ethical standards", Washington Times, Feb 4, 2010
On her return from the drive, she hastened to her chamber to read the missive, in a state of excitement mingled with fear. It was a tender and respectful declaration of affection, copied word for word from a German novel. Of this fact, Lisa was, of course, ignorant.

Alexander Sergeievitch Poushkin (1799 - 1837) A Russian poet and author. The Queen Of Spades (1901)

Origin of the Word

Missive, approximately 1444, derives from Medieval Latin missivus "for sending, sent," especially in littera missiva "letters sent," from Latin missus, past particple of mittere "to send."