Mis″sive (?), a. [See Missive, n.] 1. Specially sent; intended or prepared to be sent; as, a letter missive. Ayliffe.
2. Missile. “The missive weapons fly.” Dryden.
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.