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