Other forms: missives
A missive is a letter, especially a long or official one. A lengthy missive, fire off a missive, an angry missive.
It is now used almost entirely with a smile, since calling an email a missive says it went on too long. The word is from Latin for sent, the same root as missile and mission.
1nounmissiveA letter, especially a long or official one.
“Every week, a long missive arrived from head office full of new rules.”
missive is a letter.
Medieval Latin missivus comes from mittere, to send, the root of missile and mission.
Proto-Indo-European
*meyth₂-
Medieval Latin
missīvus
English, today
missive
Built from
Medieval Latin missīvus, from mittō (“to send”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA