Etymology

A neologism by A. Kronvalds, derived in 1869 from vēstīt ‎(“to herald, to announce”) (compare vēsts ‎(“news”)). Its form was influenced by Ancient Greek ἐπιστολή ‎(epistolḗ, “letter; command, commission; will”). Krovanlds proposed other related words (vēstulēties “to correspond, exchange letters,” and also vēstulēšanās, vēstulējums, vēstulība) which did not find acceptance. Before Kronvalds' vēstule, the concept of “letter” was expressed as (rakstīta) grāmata; the term breve (from Italian breve ‎(“short writing”), from Latin brevis ‎(“short”); compare German Brief), introduced by the journal Pēterburgas Avīzes (probably by J. Alunāns), did not find acceptance either.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [væ̀ːstulɛ]