Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Missive

Missive , adjective

[See Missive, n.]

1.
Specially sent; intended or prepared to be sent; as, a letter missive. — Ayliffe
2.
Missile.
The missive weapons fly. — Dryden
Collocations (1)
Letters missive , letters conveying the permission, comand, or advice of a superior authority, as a sovereign. They are addressed and sent to some certain person or persons, and are distinguished from letters patent, which are addressed to the public.

Missive , noun

[French lettre missive. See Mission, n.]

1.
That which is sent; a writing containing a message.
2.
One who is sent; a messenger. [Obsolete] — Shakespeare