literal

• litteral (obsolete)

From Middle English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis, also literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera, litera (“a letter”); see letter.

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɪt(ə)ɹəl/[1]
• Homophone: littoral

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

literal (comparative more literal, superlative most literal)

1. Exactly as stated; read or understood without additional interpretation; according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical, and etymonic rather than idiomatic.

   The literal translation is "hands full of bananas" but it means "empty-handed".

   • 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, J[ohn] S[penser], editor, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, OCLC 931154958, (please specify the page):

     a middle course between the rigour of literal translations and the liberty of paraphrasts

   • 2017 January 12, Jesse Hassenger, “A literal monster truck is far from the stupidest thing about Monster Trucks”, in The Onion AV Club‎:

     Mechanically, operating this hybrid vehicle is sort of a cross between driving a car and taming an animal, which means the movie treats the audience to the sight of a man (pretending to be a teenager) driving a literal monster truck in a field next to a woman (also pretending to be a teenager) riding a horse.

2. Following the letter or exact words; not free; not taking liberties

   A literal reading of the law would prohibit it, but that is clearly not the intent.

3. (theology) (broadly) That which generally assumes that the plainest reading of a given scripture is correct but which allows for metaphor where context indicates it; (specifically) following the historical-grammatical method of biblical interpretation
   • 1998, Kevin Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in this Text?, quoted on https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/13136/what-is-the-difference-between-a-literal-and-literalistic-interpretation-of:

     It is most important to distinguish literalistic from literal interpretation. The former generates an unlettered, ultimately illiterate reading—one that is incapable of recognizing less obvious uses of language such as metaphor, satire, and so forth. ... Interpreters err either when they allegorize discourse that is intended to be taken literally or when they "literalize" discourse that is intended to be taken figuratively.

4. (uncommon) Consisting of, or expressed by, letters (of an alphabet)

   a literal equation

5. (of a person) Unimaginative; matter-of-fact
6. (proscribed) Used non-literally as an intensifier; see literally for usage notes.

   Telemarketers are the literal worst.

• (exactly as stated): figurative, metaphorical

• letter
• literacy
• literary
• literate
• literature

literal (plural literals)

1. (epigraphy, typography) A misprint (or occasionally a scribal error) that affects a letter.

   Synonym: typo

2. (programming) A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.

   Synonym: literal constant

3. (logic) A propositional variable or the negation of a propositional variable. ^Wp

• constant
• prime formula

• literal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• literal in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

• tallier

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /li.təˈɾal/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /li.teˈɾal/

literal (masculine and feminine plural literals)

1. literal

• literalment

• lletra

• “literal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

literal m or f (plural literais)

1. literal

• literalmente

• letra

• “literal” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

• IPA^(key): /ˌlɪtəˈʁaːl/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːl

literal (strong nominative masculine singular literaler, comparative literaler, superlative am literalsten)

1. (of cultures, etc., not of individuals) literate

   Es gibt orale und literale Kulturen.

   There are oral and literate cultures.

• schreibkundig

From English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis, also literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera, litera (“a letter”).

• IPA^(key): [litəˈral]
• Hyphenation: li‧tê‧ral

literal

1. literal.

   Synonym: harfiah

• “literal” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

literal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular literale)

1. literal (exactly as stated)
2. literal (relating to or composed of letters)

• English: literal
• French: littéral

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: li‧te‧ral

literal m or f (plural literais)

1. literal (understood exactly as written, without additional interpretation)

• literalmente

literal m (plural literais)

1. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (programming) literal (value written in the source code)

• letra
• letrado
• literatura

• “literal” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

From French littéral, from Latin litteralis.

literal m or n (feminine singular literală, masculine plural literali, feminine and neuter plural literale)

1. literal

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

• IPA^(key): /liteˈɾal/ [li.t̪eˈɾal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: li‧te‧ral

literal (plural literales)

1. literal

• literalmente

• letra

• “literal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Borrowed from Spanish literal.

• Hyphenation: li‧te‧ral
• IPA^(key): /liteˈɾal/, [lɪ.teˈɾal]

literál

1. literal (exactly as stated)

• literalin

• literaryo
• literatura