Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
missile, missal, missive (nn.)
A missile (Americans say it MIS-uhl, the British, MIS-EIL) is something thrown, fired, or projected (such as a spear, a bullet, or a rocket), as in They fired ground-to-air missiles at the plane. A missal (a homophone of the American pronunciation of missile) is a book containing the words for the Mass. A missive is a letter, a written message. Compare EPISTLE.
