literal

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literal pert. to a letter or letters. XIV. — (O)F. litéral or late L. lit(t)erālis, f. lit(t)era LETTER; see -AL1.
So literary XVII. — L. literate educated, learned XV; literary. XVII. — L. literature polite learning XIV; literary work XVIII. — (partly through F. littérature) L. lit(t)erātūra (coll.) alphabetic letters, grammar, learning. literatim letter by letter. XVII. — medL.

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