The word missive comes from Latin, specifically from the verb mittere, which means to send. It is equivalent to letter, that is, the written document that serves to communicate something to another person. Although the terms letter and missive have the same meaning, the first is part of the colloquial language and the second is a cultism that is hardly used in everyday life.
At the same time, it is an archaism, that is, a word that in other times was used with relative normality but with the passage of time has been disappearing from the colloquial vocabulary today.
The evolution of written messages
Since the Sumerian people invented the first alphabet to the present day, written messages have not stopped evolving.
For centuries, if someone wanted to communicate with another person who was at a great distance, they had no choice but to send them a letter or missive in the mail. This tradition has not disappeared, but it is very likely that in a few years handwritten letters will be a rarity.
Today, the use of email has largely replaced the classic letters of the past. Even email itself is becoming an outdated medium compared to the WhatsApp or SMS text messaging system of social networks.
Synonyms and terms related to written messages
Although synonymy expresses the equivalence of meaning between different words, the fact that two words are synonymous does not mean that they have exactly the same meaning, since each word has a unique nuance that differentiates it from the other.
We use the word letter to refer to any written document in which a sender communicates something to a receiver. Instead, the term missive is used in language contexts typical of other times or with the intention of using a cultism.
- An epistle is also a synonym for letter, but this term is used as a cult record. Famous in the books of the New Testament are the Pauline Epistles, the writings that Paul of Tarsus addressed to Christian believers.
- A statement is a document that includes a series of clauses or conditions related to some type of activity.
- An obituary is a funeral notice in which the death of a person is communicated.
- An e-mail or electronic mail is also a form of letter, but in this case the physical medium is digital.
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