literal.
Exactly as stated; read or understood without interpretation; according to the letter; not figurative or metaphorical; following the letter or exact words; not taking liberties; etymonic rather than idiomatic.
Meaning & usage
Exactly as stated; read or understood without interpretation; according to the letter; not figurative or metaphorical; following the letter or exact words; not taking liberties; etymonic rather than idiomatic.
The literal translation of Spanish irse al otro barrio is "to go to the other neighbourhood" but it means "to die".
A literal reading of the law would prohibit it, but that is clearly not the intent.
Actual, real, physical.
That which generally assumes that the plainest reading of a given text is correct but which allows for metaphor where context indicates it.
Following the historical-grammatical method of biblical interpretation.
Consisting of, or expressed by, letters (of an alphabet); using literation.
a literal equation
Unimaginative; matter-of-fact; literal-minded.
Used nonliterally as an intensifier. See literally for usage notes.
Telemarketers are the literal worst.
Misspelling of littoral.
Where this word comes from
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 *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Late Latin litterālisbor. Old French literalbor. Middle English literal English literal From Middle English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis or literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera or litera (“a letter”). See letter.
A misprint (or occasionally a scribal error) that affects a letter.
An atomic formula (consisting of a propositional variable) or its negation.
A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.
Misspelling of littoral.
Where this word comes from
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 *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Late Latin litterālisbor. Old French literalbor. Middle English literal English literal From Middle English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis or literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera or litera (“a letter”). See letter.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.