DictionaryRoot: littera
Latin
littera
letter or written character
Forms
- littera
- liter- — A simplified spelling used in some descendants.
- litter- — The doubled spelling retained elsewhere.
Origin
An old Latin word whose deeper origin is uncertain.
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noun
literati
lit-uh-RAH-tee/ˌlɪtəˈrɑːti/
Well-educated literary or intellectual people considered as a group.
Etymology
Here knowledge of letters stands for literary learning, not merely basic reading ability. The plural names educated people collectively as a learned or literary class.