ἐπιστολ-ή, ἡ,
(ἐπιστέλλω) anything sent by a messenger, message, order, commission, whether verbal or in writing, [[ 5th c.BC: Herodotus Historicus 4.10, 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 8.45, etc.] Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐξ ἐπιστολῆς by command, [[ 5th c.BC: Herodotus Historicus 6.50 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]: used by Trag. always in plural, [[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Prometheus Vinctus” 3, “Pers.” 783, “Supp.” 1012, 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Ajax” 781, “OC” 1601, etc.] Refs 5th c.BC+]; Πενθέως ἐπιστολαῖς by his commands, [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Bacchae” 442 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; τέκνων ἐπιστολὰς ἔγραψεν commands about her children, [[ [prev. author] “Hipp.” 858. ] Refs]
__2. letter, ἐ. διαπέμπειν, ἀποδοῦναι, [[ 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.129, 7.10; λύειν [prev. author] 1.132; ἐ. ἔδωκεν ἀποδοῦναι 5th c.BC: Lysias Orator 20.27 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; πέμπειν τινί [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Iphigenia Taurica” 589 (_plural_)] Refs 5th c.BC+]: in plural of one letter, like{γράμματα}, Latin litterae, [[ [prev. author] “IA” 111, 314, 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.132, etc.] Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν.. τοῦ Ὄθωνος, Latin ab epistulis Othoni, his secretary, [[ 1st-2nd c.AD: Plutarchus Biographus et Philosophus “Otho” 9 ] Refs 1st c.AD+]; νομογραφικὴ ἐ. [[ “BGU” 1135.7 (1st c.BC). ] Refs 1st c.BC+]