Epistolarian

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who writes a great many letters, often one who is known for their correspondence with others
2. Someone devoted to letter writing, particularly one whose surviving letters are studied or collected
3. A prolific correspondent who carries on extensive written exchanges with friends, family or public figures

Etymology: The Greek "epistolē" meant a message or dispatch, and it came from "epistellein," "to send to." A letter, in other words, began as something sent off to someone. The Latin "epistola" carried the same sense into the Roman world, and English took the idea through the adjective "epistolary," meaning of or in the form of letters. "Epistolarian" adds the suffix "-arian," which English borrowed from Latin "-arius" to name a person connected with something. It appears in words like "humanitarian" and "agrarian," which is why the ending feels at home here. A letter-writer is therefore someone who practises the epistolary art, and the word is used mostly for writers whose correspondence is famous in its own right. Its exact first recorded date in English is uncertain to me, so I have left it out.

Synonyms: letter writer, correspondent