Standard Lemma guide

literature

noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈlɪt.(ə.)ɹə.t͡ʃə(ɹ)/
  • Canada, US: /ˈlɪt.ɚ.ə.t͡ʃɚ/
  • Canada, US: [ˈlɪɾ.ɚ.ə.t͡ʃɚ]
  • Canada, US: /ˈlɪ.tɹə.t͡ʃɚ/
  • Canada, US: [ˈlɪ.t͡ʃɹə.t͡ʃɚ]
  • Canada, US: /ˈlɪtɚ.t͡ʃɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • English, Midwestern-US: /ˈlɪt.ə.t͡ʃɚ/
  • CMU ARPABET: L IH1 T ER0 AH0 CH ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The body of all written works.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The collected creative writing of a nation, people, group, or culture.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • He’s studying English literature at university.
  • There’s a vast body of scientific literature on the subject.
  • classical literature
  • scientific literature
  • world literature

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

All the papers, treatises, etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Qualifier: usually preceded by the

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Written fiction of a high standard.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • 2008, Adam Cadre However, even “literary” science fiction rarely qualifies as literature, because it treats characters as sets of traits rather than as fully realized human beings with unique life stories.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: literary fiction

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Literacy; ability to read and write.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

the profession or art of a writer

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • her place in literature is secure

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: profession

7

noun

Meaning 7

the humanistic study of a body of literature

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he took a course in Russian lit

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lit

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: literary study

8

noun

Meaning 8

creative writing of recognized artistic value

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: writing, written material, piece of writing

Narrower terms: Sanskrit literature

9

noun

Meaning 9

published writings in a particular style on a particular subject

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the technical literature
  • one aspect of Waterloo has not yet been treated in the literature

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: writing, written material, piece of writing

Narrower terms: historiography

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h2leyH-der. Old Latin leitera Latin līterader.? Proto-Hellenic *diphthérā? Ancient Greek διφθέρᾱ (diphthérā)bor. Etruscan [Term?]bor.? Latin littera Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh2? Latin -tūra Latin litterātūrader. Old French littératurebor. Middle English literature English literature From Middle English literature, from Old French littérature, from Latin literatura or litteratura, from littera (“letter”), from Etruscan, from Ancient Greek διφθέρᾱ (diphthérā, “tablet”). Displaced native Old English bōccræft.

Across languages

Translations

216 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: letterkunde — body of all written works
  • Afrikaans: literatuur — body of all written works
  • Albanian: literaturë — body of all written works
  • Albanian: letërsi — body of all written works
  • Amharic: ሥነ ጽሑፍ (śənä ṣəḥuf) — body of all written works
  • Arabic: أَدَب (ʔadab) — body of all written works
  • Arabic: أَدَبِيَّات (ʔadabiyyāt) — body of all written works
  • Aragonese: literatura — body of all written works
  • Armenian: գրականություն (grakanutʻyun) — body of all written works
  • Assamese: সাহিত্য (xahiitto) — body of all written works
  • Asturian: lliteratura — body of all written works
  • Azerbaijani: ədəbiyyat — body of all written works
  • Bashkir: әҙәбиәт (əźəbiət) — body of all written works
  • Basque: literatura — body of all written works
  • Belarusian: літарату́ра (litaratúra) — body of all written works
  • Belarusian: пісьме́нства (pisʹmjénstva) — body of all written works
  • Bengali: সাহিত্য (śahitto) — body of all written works
  • Breton: lennegezh — body of all written works
  • Bulgarian: литерату́ра (literatúra) — body of all written works
  • Bulgarian: слове́сност (slovésnost) — body of all written works
  • Bulgarian: кни́жнина (knížnina) — body of all written works
  • Burmese: စာပေ (cape) — body of all written works
  • Carpathian Rusyn: літерату́ра (literatúra) — body of all written works
  • Catalan: literatura — body of all written works
  • Chinese Cantonese: 文學 /文学 (man4 hok6) — body of all written works
  • Chinese: вынщуә (vɨnxuə) — body of all written works
  • Eastern Min Chinese: 文學 /文学 (ùng-hŏk) — body of all written works
  • Hakka Chinese: 文學 /文学 (vùn-ho̍k) — body of all written works
  • Chinese: 文學 /文学 (zh-min-nan) — body of all written works
  • Chinese Mandarin: 文學 /文学 (wénxué) — body of all written works
  • Wu Chinese: 文學 /文学 (6ven-yaq) — body of all written works
  • Cornish: lien — body of all written works
  • Czech: literatura — body of all written works
  • Czech: písemnictví — body of all written works
  • Czech: slovesnost — body of all written works
  • Danish: litteratur — body of all written works
  • Dhivehi: އަދަބިއްޔާތު (adabiyyātu) — body of all written works
  • Dutch: literatuur — body of all written works
  • East Circassian: литурэтурэ (liturɛturɛ) — body of all written works
  • Esperanto: literaturo — body of all written works
  • Estonian: literatuur — body of all written works
  • Estonian: kirjandus — body of all written works
  • Faroese: bókmentir — body of all written works
  • Finnish: kirjallisuus — body of all written works
  • French: littérature — body of all written works
  • West-Frisian: literatuer — body of all written works
  • Galician: literatura — body of all written works
  • Georgian: ლიტერატურა (liṭeraṭura) — body of all written works
  • German: Literatur — body of all written works
  • Greek: λογοτεχνία (logotechnía) — body of all written works
  • Greek: βιβλιογραφία (vivliografía) — body of all written works
  • Gujarati: સાહિત્ય (sāhitya) — body of all written works
  • Hebrew: סִפְרוּת (sifrút) — body of all written works
  • Hiligaynon: panulat — body of all written works
  • Hindi: साहित्य (sāhitya) — body of all written works
  • Hungarian: irodalom — body of all written works
  • Icelandic: bókmenntir — body of all written works
  • Ido: literaturo — body of all written works
  • Indonesian: kesusasteraan — body of all written works
  • Interlingua: litteratura — body of all written works
  • Irish: litríocht — body of all written works
  • Italian: letteratura — body of all written works
  • Japanese: 文学 (bungaku) — body of all written works
  • Japanese: 文献 (bunken) — body of all written works
  • Javanese: sastra — body of all written works
  • Kannada: ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ (sāhitya) — body of all written works
  • Kashubian: lëteratura — body of all written works
  • Kazakh: әдебиет (ädebiet) — body of all written works
  • Khmer: អក្សរសាស្ត្រ (ʼaksɑɑ saah) — body of all written works
  • Korean: 문학 (munhak) — body of all written works
  • Northern Kurdish: edebiyat — body of all written works
  • Northern Kurdish: lîteratûr — body of all written works
  • Kyrgyz: адабият (adabiyat) — body of all written works
  • Kyrgyz: жазын (jazın) — body of all written works
  • Lao: ວັນນະຄະດີ (wan na kha dī) — body of all written works
  • Latin: litterae — body of all written works
  • Latvian: literatūra — body of all written works
  • Limburgish: literatuur — body of all written works
  • Lithuanian: literatūrà — body of all written works
  • Low German: Literatur — body of all written works
  • Luxembourgish: Literatur — body of all written works
  • Macedonian: литерату́ра (literatúra) — body of all written works
  • Macedonian: книжевност (kniževnost) — body of all written works
  • Malay: kesusasteraan — body of all written works
  • Malay: sastera — body of all written works
  • Malay: persuratan — body of all written works
  • Malayalam: സാഹിത്യം (sāhityaṁ) — body of all written works
  • Maltese: letteratura — body of all written works
  • Māori: mātātuhi — body of all written works
  • Māori: mātākōrero — body of all written works
  • Māori: mātāwaha — body of all written works
  • Marathi: साहित्य (sāhitya) — body of all written works
  • Mirandese: lhiteratura — body of all written works
  • Mongolian: утга зохиол (utga zoxiol) — body of all written works
  • Nepali: साहित्य (sāhitya) — body of all written works
  • Norman: littéthatuthe — body of all written works
  • Norwegian Bokmål: litteratur — body of all written works
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: litteratur — body of all written works
  • Occitan: literatura — body of all written works
  • Odia: ସାହିତ୍ୟ (sāhitya) — body of all written works
  • Old English: bōccræft — body of all written works
  • Pashto: ادبپوهنه (adabpohǝna) — body of all written works
  • Pashto: ادب (adab) — body of all written works
  • Iranian Persian: اَدَبِیَّات (adabiyyât) — body of all written works
  • Iranian Persian: اَدَبِیات (adabiyât) — body of all written works
  • Iranian Persian: اَدَب (adab) — body of all written works
  • Plautdietsch: Schreft — body of all written works
  • Polish: literatura — body of all written works
  • Portuguese: literatura — body of all written works
  • Punjabi: ਸਾਹਿਤ (sāhit) — body of all written works
  • Romanian: literatură — body of all written works
  • Romansh: litteratura — body of all written works
  • Russian: литерату́ра (literatúra) — body of all written works
  • Russian: слове́сность (slovésnostʹ) — body of all written works
  • Sanskrit: साहित्य (sāhitya) — body of all written works
  • Scots: leiteratur — body of all written works
  • Scottish Gaelic: litreachas — body of all written works
  • Serbo-Croatian: књи̏же̄вно̄ст — body of all written works
  • Serbo-Croatian: литерату́ра — body of all written works
  • Serbo-Croatian: knjȉžēvnōst — body of all written works
  • Serbo-Croatian: literatúra — body of all written works
  • Sicilian: littiratura — body of all written works
  • Sindhi: ادب (adab) — body of all written works
  • Sinhalese: සාහිත්යය (sāhityaya) — body of all written works
  • Slovak: literatúra — body of all written works
  • Slovak: písomníctvo — body of all written works
  • Slovak: slovesnosť — body of all written works
  • Slovene: književnost — body of all written works
  • Slovene: literatura — body of all written works
  • Lower Sorbian: literatura — body of all written works
  • Upper Sorbian: literatura — body of all written works
  • Spanish: literatura — body of all written works
  • Swahili: fasihi — body of all written works
  • Swedish: litteratur — body of all written works
  • Tagalog: literatura — body of all written works
  • Tagalog: panitikan — body of all written works
  • Tajik: адабиёт (adabiyot) — body of all written works
  • Tajik: адаб (adab) — body of all written works
  • Tamil: இலக்கியம் (ilakkiyam) — body of all written works
  • Tatar: әдәбият (ädäbiyät) — body of all written works
  • Telugu: సాహిత్యం (sāhityaṁ) — body of all written works
  • Thai: วรรณกรรม (wan-ná-gam) — body of all written works
  • Thai: วรรณคดี (wan-ná-ká-dii) — body of all written works
  • Turkish: literatür — body of all written works
  • Turkish: edebiyat — body of all written works
  • Turkish: yazın — body of all written works
  • Turkmen: edebiýat — body of all written works
  • Ukrainian: літерату́ра (literatúra) — body of all written works
  • Ukrainian: письме́нництво (pysʹménnyctvo) — body of all written works
  • Ukrainian: письме́нство (pysʹménstvo) — body of all written works
  • Urdu: اَدَب (adab) — body of all written works
  • Urdu: اَدَبِیات (adabiyāt) — body of all written works
  • Urdu: اَدَبِیَّات (adabiyyāt) — body of all written works
  • Urdu: ساہِتْیَہ (sāhitya) — body of all written works
  • Uyghur: ئەدەبىيات (edebiyat) — body of all written works
  • Uzbek: adabiyot — body of all written works
  • Vietnamese: văn chương — body of all written works
  • Vietnamese: văn học — body of all written works
  • Volapük: literat — body of all written works
  • Welsh: llên — body of all written works
  • West Circassian: литурэтурэ (liturɛturɛ) — body of all written works
  • Yiddish: ליטעראַטור (literatur) — body of all written works
  • Zhuang: vwnzyoz — body of all written works
  • Afrikaans: letterkunde — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Afrikaans: literatuur — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Bashkir: әҙәбиәт (əźəbiət) — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Bulgarian: литература (literatura) — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Chinese Mandarin: 文學 /文学 (wénxué) — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Finnish: kirjallisuus — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Galician: literatura — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Hindi: साहित्य (sāhitya) — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Hungarian: irodalom — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Icelandic: bókmenntir — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Irish: litríocht — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Japanese: 文学 (bungaku) — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Korean: 문학 (munhak) — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Māori: mātātuhi — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Plautdietsch: Schreft — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Polish: literatura — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Portuguese: literatura — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Romansh: litteratura — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Serbo-Croatian: књи̏же̄вно̄ст — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Serbo-Croatian: knjȉžēvnōst — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Spanish: literatura — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Swedish: litteratur — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Thai: วรรณคดี (wan-ná-ká-dii) — the collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture
  • Afrikaans: literatuur — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Bashkir: әҙәбиәт (əźəbiət) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Bulgarian: литература (literatura) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Chinese Mandarin: 文獻 /文献 (wénxiàn) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Finnish: kirjallisuus — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • French: littérature — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Galician: literatura — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Hindi: साहित्य (sāhitya) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Hungarian: szakirodalom — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Indonesian: literatur — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Irish: litríocht — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Italian: letteratura — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Japanese: 文献 (bunken) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Japanese: 資料 (shiryō) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Korean: 문헌 (munheon) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Māori: mātātuhi — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Norman: littéthatuthe — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Polish: literatura — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Portuguese: literatura — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Romansh: litteratura — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Russian: литерату́ра (literatúra) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Serbo-Croatian: литерату́ра — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Serbo-Croatian: literatúra — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Spanish: literatura — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Swedish: litteratur — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Thai: วรรณกรรม (wan-ná-gam) — all the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject
  • Finnish: kaunokirjallisuus — written fiction of high standard
  • Hungarian: szépirodalom — written fiction of high standard
  • Indonesian: literatur — written fiction of high standard
  • Polish: literatura piękna — written fiction of high standard
Real reading context

literature in complete knowledge articles