literate

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English litterate,^[2][3] borrowed from Latin litterātus (“marked with letters; learned, cultured”), also spelled līterātus,^[4][3][5] from littera (“letter”) and the suffix -ātus.^[4][6][7] Etymonline and Barnhart say the Latin word was formed in imitation of Ancient Greek γραμματικός (grammatikós).^[8][3] It is related to letter, and English already had lettered in the same sense.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Educated, learned: the Middle English translation of Higden's Polychronicon tells of a child who bought a hundred childer litterate, rendering the Latin litteratos; the MED dates it probably before 1425,^[2][3] the OED, using a later copy, before 1475.^[4]

Semantic evolution

For most of its history the word meant "acquainted with letters", that is, learned or familiar with literature;^[4][5] by the late 18th century it was used especially of knowing literature.^[8] The basic sense "able to read and write" is recorded from before 1613, and the OED thinks it was probably formed as the opposite of illiterate;^[4] the American Heritage Dictionary notes that it has become common only in the last hundred years or so.^[5] The noun followed the same path, from a learned person (about 1540) to one who can read and write (1875 in the OED, 1894 in Etymonline),^[4][8] with literacy formed in 1883 after the earlier illiteracy.^[3] In the Church of England from 1815 a literate was a man ordained without a university degree.^[4][9] Since 1919 the adjective has also meant competent in a particular field, as in computer-literate, the same extension that literacy and illiteracy have undergone.^[4][7][5] Two 16th-century senses, "literal" (1556–1686) and "literary" (1558), were modelled on literal and literary.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1425 – educated, learned.^[2][3]
• c. 1540 – noun, a learned person.^[4][9]
• 1556 – literal (obsolete by 1686).^[4]
• 1558 – relating to letters or literature, literary.^[4]
• before 1613 – able to read and write.^[4]
• 1692 – the literate, literate people as a group.^[4]
• 1815 – noun, in the Church of England, a person ordained without a degree.^[4]
• 1875 – noun, a person who can read and write.^[4] Etymonline dates it to 1894.^[8]
• 1919 – competent in a particular field.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Able to read and write: Most of the village's adults are now literate.^[5][10][4]
2. Knowledgeable or competent in a particular field, often in compounds: computer-literate, economically literate.^[5][4][7]
3. Educated, cultured or learned, especially familiar with literature.^[10][9][5]
4. Well written; polished: a literate and witty script.^[5]

Noun

1. A person who can read and write.^[5][4]
2. An educated or well-informed person.^[5][9][4]
3. (historical) In the Church of England, a person admitted to holy orders without a university degree.^[9][4]

Word family

• literately
• literateness
• aliterate
• antiliterate
• biliterate
• nonliterate
• postliterate
• preliterate

Related words

• illiterate
• letter
• literal
• literacy
• literary
• literature
• literati
• lettered

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that literate long meant only "familiar with literature" or "well educated", and its opposite illiterate has a similarly wide range; it accepts the extended uses such as computer literacy but advises another word where the context leaves the meaning unclear.^[5]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins