epistemology: The theory or science of the method or grounds of knowledge.

epistle: 1. A communication made to an absent person in writing; a letter.

epistrophe: 1. Rhet. A figure of speech in which each sentence or clause ends with the same word.

“epist” was my first internet moniker back in the days of Prodigy Internet access and I thought I was such a smart cookie for knowing what the word “epistemology” meant. Since then, I’ve simply kept it out of nostalgia and because I’ve found other cool words beginning with “epist” so it’s taken on a general literary and philosophical connotation for me. When the time is right, maybe I’ll come up with a definition for these five letters and a new word will be born.