literature English · revision 4233

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1375|origins=la littera}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈlɪt.rə.tʃə/, US /ˈlɪt̬.ɚ.ə.tʃɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|litterature]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) partly through Middle French littérature^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) and directly [[bor|la|litterātūra|t=writing, grammar, learning]], literātūra,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) originally “writing formed with letters”,^(Etymonline) from [[m|la|littera|t=letter of the alphabet; a writing; learning]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source of [[letter]], with the suffix -ūra.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The same Latin word gave Spanish literatura, Italian letteratura and German Literatur.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Book learning, acquaintance with books: about 1375 in the OED,^(OED 1989) probably before 1425 in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon according to Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) In this sense it replaced Old English bōccræft.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The activity or profession of a writer is attested by 1779, in Johnson's Lives of the English Poets.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The body of writings of a country or period emerged late, in French in 1782 and in English in 1812, in Humphry Davy's Elements of Chemical Philosophy.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The whole of the writing on a particular subject is from 1860,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and printed matter of any kind, as leaflets, is colloquial from 1895.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1375 – book learning.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1779 – the profession of letters.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1812 – a body of writings.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1860 – writings on a subject.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1895 – printed matter.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A body of writings in prose or verse, especially of a language, period or people.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The art or occupation of a literary writer.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The body of written work on a subject: ''the medical literature''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Printed material, such as leaflets or brochures.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[preliterature]]

+ * [[subliterature]]

+ * [[comparative literature]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[letter]]

+ * [[literal]]

+ * [[literacy]]

+ * [[literate]]

+ * [[literary]]

+ * [[alliteration]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}