Adjacent Words

Literature definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIT'ERATURE, n. [L. literatura.] Learning; acquaintance with letters or books. Literature comprehends a knowledge of the ancient languages, denominated classical, history, grammar, rhetoric, logic, geography, etc. as well as of the sciences. A knowledge of the world and good breeding give luster to literature.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: creative writing of recognized artistic value
2: the humanistic study of a body of literature; "he took a course in Russian lit" [syn: literature, lit]
3: published writings in a particular style on a particular subject; "the technical literature"; "one aspect of Waterloo has not yet been treated in the literature"
4: the profession or art of a writer; "her place in literature is secure"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin litteratura writing, grammar, learning, from litteratus Date: 14th century 1. archaic literary culture 2. the production of literary work especially as an occupation 3. a. (1) writings in prose or verse; especially writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest (2) an example of such writings <what came out, though rarely literature, was always a roaring good story — People> b. the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age c. the body of writings on a particular subject <scientific literature> d. printed matter (as leaflets or circulars) <campaign literature> 4. the aggregate of a usually specified type of musical compositions

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 written works, esp. those whose value lies in beauty of language or in emotional effect. 2 the realm of letters. 3 the writings of a country or period. 4 literary production. 5 colloq. printed matter, leaflets, etc. 6 the material in print on a particular subject (there is a considerable literature on geraniums). Etymology: ME, = literary culture, f. L litteratura (as LITERATE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Literature Lit"er*a*ture, n. [F. litt['e]rature, L. litteratura, literatura, learning, grammar, writing, fr. littera, litera, letter. See Letter.] 1. Learning; acquaintance with letters or books. 2. The collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy preserved in writing; also, the whole body of literary productions or writings upon a given subject, or in reference to a particular science or branch of knowledge, or of a given country or period; as, the literature of Biblical criticism; the literature of chemistry. 3. The class of writings distinguished for beauty of style or expression, as poetry, essays, or history, in distinction from scientific treatises and works which contain positive knowledge; belles-lettres. 4. The occupation, profession, or business of doing literary work. --Lamp. Syn: Science; learning; erudition; belles-lettres. Usage: See Science. -- Literature, Learning, Erudition. Literature, in its widest sense, embraces all compositions in writing or print which preserve the results of observation, thought, or fancy; but those upon the positive sciences (mathematics, etc.) are usually excluded. It is often confined, however, to belles-lettres, or works of taste and sentiment, as poetry, eloquence, history, etc., excluding abstract discussions and mere erudition. A man of literature (in this narrowest sense) is one who is versed in belles-lettres; a man of learning excels in what is taught in the schools, and has a wide extent of knowledge, especially, in respect to the past; a man of erudition is one who is skilled in the more recondite branches of learned inquiry. The origin of all positive science and philosophy, as well as of all literature and art, in the forms in which they exist in civilized Europe, must be traced to the Greeks. --Sir G. Lewis. Learning thy talent is, but mine is sense. --Prior. Some gentlemen, abounding in their university erudition, fill their sermons with philosophical terms. --Swift.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(literatures) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Novels, plays, and poetry are referred to as literature, especially when they are considered to be good or important. ...classic works of literature. ...a Professor of English Literature... It may not be great literature but it certainly had me riveted!... The book explores the connection between American ethnic and regional literatures. N-VAR 2. The literature on a particular subject of study is all the books and articles that have been published about it. The literature on immigration policy is almost unrelievedly critical of the state... This work is documented in the scientific literature. N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp 3. Literature is written information produced by people who want to sell you something or give you advice. I am sending you literature from two other companies that provide a similar service... N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Learning, erudition, letters, lore. 2. The humanities, the Muses, belles-lettres, polite literature. 3. Literary productions, literary works.

Moby Thesaurus

French literature, Renaissance literature, ancient literature, article, autograph, belles lettres, belles-lettres, bibliography, body of knowledge, body of learning, brainchild, brochures, circulars, classics, composition, computer printout, contemporary literature, copy, cyclopedia, data, document, draft, edited version, encyclopedia, engrossment, erotic literature, erotica, essay, facts, fair copy, fiction, final draft, finished version, first draft, flimsy, folk literature, holograph, humane letters, information, kitsch, leaflets, letter, letters, literae scriptae, literary artefact, literary production, lore, lucubration, manuscript, materials, matter, medieval literature, national literature, nonfiction, obscene literature, opus, original, pamphlets, paper, parchment, penscript, piece, piece of writing, play, poem, polite literature, pop literature, popular literature, pornographic literature, pornography, printed matter, printout, production, propaganda, pseudonymous literature, publications, publicity, reading matter, recension, republic of letters, scatological literature, screed, scrip, script, scrive, scroll, second draft, serious literature, store of knowledge, system of knowledge, the written word, transcript, transcription, travel literature, treasury of information, typescript, underground literature, version, wisdom literature, work, writing, writings