Why we always start a letter with ‘dear’
The philological meaning of the word ‘dear’ dates back to Latin.
The Romans considered ‘caritas’ to mean dearness or high price – when Cicero wrote of a year in which the cost of living was high, he used the phrase ‘annonae [crops] caritas’.
Eventually it designated another kind of dearness, the highest love or fellowship: charity as we now know it.
The sense of it is conveyed in 1 Corinthians 13:13: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.’ It means a form of Christian love, benevolent goodwill, generosity or helpfulness.
As a polite introductory word to letters it is attested from the mid-15th century and has been used in conventional forms of address since then.
The fact that a word first used to address only the beloved became a standard opening in letters to anyone might seem odd, but it isn’t surprising considering this point in history, when wide varieties of Middle English were being phased out by Modern English.
Language in England saw a great change which was further promoted by the spread of London-based dialect in government and administration and by the standardising effect of printing.
It would have made a gentleman cringe to receive a letter beginning with simply his name. Referring to someone by name would be calling their attention, not greeting them, and it was considered rude not to greet someone properly.
‘Dear’ had a hint of a truly polite correspondent; someone who was caring, kind and knew how to respect people.
Emilie Lamplough, Trowbridge, Wiltshire. QUESTION Was the Swiss Army knife the first multi-purpose knife? FURTHER to the earlier answer, the wonderful Fitzwilliam Museum, home to the Roman multi-tool, was founded in 1816 with the legacy of the library and art collection of the 7th Viscount Fitzwilliam.
It is in Cambridge, not Oxford as the previous answer stated.
J.B. Brough, Cambridge.