About The Word Literature

Bay Area Crosswords

Learn about the word Literature to help solve your crossword puzzle. Discover Literature definitions and meaning, origins, synonyms, related terms and more at the free Crossword Dictionary.

Literature

Literature Meaning & Definition
Literature Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Literature?

[n] the profession or art of a writer; "her place in literature is secure"
[n] the humanistic study of a body of literature; "he took a course in French literature"
[n] creative writing of recognized artistic value
[n] 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"

Synonyms | Synonyms for Literature:

Related Terms | Find terms related to 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 | French 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 | Renaissance literature | 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

See Also | literary study | piece of writing | profession | writing | written material

Literature In Webster's Dictionary

\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.

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