Etymologically
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litteratura

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [lɪt.tɛ.raːˈtuː.ra][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [lit.te.raˈtuː.ra][1]

Forms

litterātūra f (genitive litterātūrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin littera (“letter”) + -ūra.[2][3] It is also spelled lītterātūra and literātūra.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero, in the Partitions of Oratory, compares memory to writing, which consists of the marks of letters and the material that bears them.[2][4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was the use of letters, writing, and Tacitus uses it of the Greek alphabet.[2][6] It then meant elementary instruction, grammar and philology, as in Quintilian and Seneca.[2][6] Later it meant writings, literature, as Fronto says he is as far from Greek literature as his Caelian hill is from Greece, and learning or scholarship, as in Tertullian.[2][6]

In medieval Latin it meant literature, learning and a text.[7] British writers used it of writing or script.[8] English literature is recorded in the early 15th century as book-learning.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of writing.[2][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of the Greek alphabet.[6][5]
  • 100–170 AD – Fronto uses it of Greek literature.[2][5]
  • early 15th century – English literature is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Writing; an alphabet.[2][1]
  2. Grammar, philology; elementary instruction.[2][1]
  3. Writings, literature.[2][7]
  4. Learning, erudition.[2][1]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A text.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press