Etymologically
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literate

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈlɪtəɹət/[1]

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

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