literal English · revision 39688

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a1398, J. Trevisa, translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus|origins=la littera}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlɪt(ə)ɹəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is partly [[bor|frm|literal]] and partly [[bor|la-lat|litterālis|t=of letters or writing]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024) from [[m|la|littera|t=letter of the alphabet]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) plural [[m|la|litterae|t=a letter, piece of writing]],^(MWU 2024) the word behind English [[letter]].^(AHD 2024)^(Skeat 1911) Merriam-Webster derives it through [[la-med|litteralis]].^(MWU 2024) The French word meant "of literature" from the start of the 14th century, and by the late 14th century "of the letter of a text", taking its words in their primary meaning without allegory.^(OED 2026) The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records it, in the sense "exact, to the letter", from 1410–15.^(AND)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Relating to the letters of the alphabet, or expressed in letters: before 1398, in John Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart and Etymonline also find it before 1397, in the Wycliffe Bible, in the theological sense "not figurative or allegorical", which the OED dates to about 1443.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word's main history lies in Bible interpretation: the ''literal'' sense of Scripture, obtained by taking the words in their ordinary meaning, was opposed to its mystical or allegorical senses.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) From there it came to mean the exact sense of the actual wording of a passage, or the primary or etymological sense of a word (1597),^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and following the original word for word, as in a ''literal translation'', from 1599.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Of a person or mind, apt to take words literally and miss metaphor or irony, it is recorded from 1633,^(OED 2026) and ''literal-minded'' from 1791.^(Etymonline) From 1624 it also meant "real, actual, without exaggeration".^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) gave the senses "according to the primitive meaning, not figurative" and "following the letter, or exact words".^(Johnson 1755) The older link with letters survives in mathematics, where an expression using letters for quantities has been ''literal'' since 1673,^(OED 2026) and in the noun, a misprint of a letter, recorded from 1622.^(MWU 2024) Senses meaning "of literature" (about 1450) and "of letters or epistles" (1650) are obsolete.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1397 – not figurative or allegorical, in the Wycliffe Bible.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a1398 – relating to the letters of the alphabet.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c1443 – of the sense of a sacred text, obtained by taking its words in their ordinary meaning.^(OED 2026)

+ * c1450 – literary (obsolete by 1604).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1597 – of the primary or etymological sense of a word.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1599 – word for word, of a translation.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1622 – noun, a misprint.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1624 – real, actual, without exaggeration.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1633 – of a person, apt to take words literally.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1673 – in mathematics, using letters for quantities.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Taking words in their usual or most basic sense, without [[metaphor]], [[allegory]] or exaggeration: ''The literal meaning of the place name is "white hill".''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Following the original word for word: ''a literal [[translation]] of the poem''.^(Collins 2023)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # Real, actual; exactly as described, without exaggeration.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of a person, unimaginative or [[prosaic]]; inclined to take what is said at face value.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of or expressed by [[letter|alt=letters]] of the alphabet; in [[mathematics]], using letters for numbers or coefficients.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # (chiefly British, printing) A [[misprint]] or error of a letter in writing or [[typesetting]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[literalness]]

+ * [[literality]]

+ * [[unliteral]]

+ * [[biliteral]]

+ * [[literalism]]

+ * [[literalize]]

+ * [[literally]]

+ * [[literal-minded]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[letter]]

+ * [[literacy]]

+ * [[literary]]

+ * [[literate]]

+ * [[literature]]

+ * [[littoral]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The adverb ''literally'' (1530s) has long been used as an intensifier, meaning "virtually" or "in effect", a use Etymonline traces back to the late 17th century^(Etymonline) and Dictionary.com to the early 19th;^(Dictionary.com 2016) it is widely criticized because it contradicts the word's sense "actually, without exaggeration".^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) Collins advises avoiding it in formal writing.^(Collins 2023) Weekley already noted in 1921 that ''literally'' was often used by the excited in the opposite of its real meaning.^(Weekley 1921) Dictionary.com lists ''literal'' and [[littoral]] as easily confused.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}