letter definition

English letter definition

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛtə(ɹ)/

  • Audio (RP)

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛtɚ/, /-ɾɚ/

  • Audio (GA)

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈletə(ɹ)/, /-ɾə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɛtə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: let‧ter

Etymology 1

From Middle English letter, lettre, from Old French letre, from Latin littera (“letter of the alphabet"; in plural, "epistle”), from Etruscan, from Ancient Greek διφθέρᾱ (diphthérā, “tablet”). Related to diphtheria. Displaced Old English bōcstæf (literally “book staff”) in sense 1 and ǣrendġewrit (literally “message writing”) in sense 2.

Alternative forms

• lettre (obsolete)

Noun

letter (plural letters)

1. A symbol in an alphabet.

   There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 23:38:

     And a superscription also was written ouer him in letters of Greeke, and Latin, & Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE IEWES.

2. A written or printed communication, generally longer and more formal than a note.

   I wrote a letter to my sister about my life.

   • 1692, William Walsh, “Preface”, in Letters and Poems, Amorous and Gallant:

     The style of letters ought to be free, easy, and natural.

   • 1892, P.A.C., edited by Charlotte Porter and Helen A. Clarke, Poet Lore: A Magazine of Letters, volume 4, New York, N.Y.: AMS Reprint Company, →OCLC, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s ‘Golden Legend’ and its Analogues, page 94:

     The magician gave this to the young man and said to him,“ Go at such an hour of the night and stand before a pagan tomb and call the demons, and throw the letter into the air, and immediately they will come to you.” And the young man called the devils and threw the letter into the air, and the prince of darkness came, […]

   • 1922, Ben Travers, A Cuckoo in the Nest‎^[1], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925:

     He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.

   • 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part I, London: Collins, →ISBN:

     An indulgent playmate, Grannie would lay aside the long scratchy-looking letter she was writing (heavily crossed ‘to save notepaper’) and enter into the delightful pastime of ‘a chicken from Mr Whiteley's’.

3. The literal meaning of something, as distinguished from its intended and remoter meaning (the spirit).
   • 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “Of Obedience”, in The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC, section I (Of Obedience to our Superiours), page 183:

     In obedience to humane laws, we muſt obſerve the letter of the Law, where we can without doing violence to the reaſon of the Law and the intention of the Law-giver: but where they croſſe each other, the charity of the Law is to be preferred before its diſcipline, and the reaſon of it before the letter.

   • 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Part IV”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 81:

     I broke the letter of it to keep the sense.

   • 2009 February 23, Laurence Peter, quoting Chris Davies, “Euro MP expenses 'can reach £1m'”, in BBC News‎^[2], archived from the original on 2012-01-10:

     Some MEPs from some countries may have pocketed £2m more than I have by observing the letter but not the spirit of the rules.

4. (in the plural) Literature.

   Benjamin Franklin was multiskilled – a scientist, politician and a man of letters.

5. (law) A division unit of a piece of law marked by a letter of the alphabet.

   Letter (b) constitutes an exception to this provision.

6. (US, uncountable) A size of paper, 8½ in × 11 in (215.9 mm × 279.4 mm).
7. (Canada, uncountable) A size of paper, 215 mm × 280 mm.
8. (US, scholastic) Clipping of varsity letter.
9. (printing, dated) A single type; type, collectively; a style of type.
   • 1644 February 18 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 8 February 1644]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC, page 41:

     Under these, thro’ a garden in which is an ample fountaine, was the King's printing-house, and that famous letter so much esteem’d.

Synonyms

• (written character/alphabetic symbol): bookstaff/bookstave

Hyponyms

• epistle
• missive

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

letter (third-person singular simple present letters, present participle lettering, simple past and past participle lettered)

1. (transitive) To print, inscribe, or paint letters on something.
2. (intransitive, US, scholastic) To earn a varsity letter (award).
   • 1992 September 23, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes‎^[3]:

     I think Mom lettered in shot put her junior year.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English letere, equivalent to let +‎ -er.

Alternative forms

• lettor

Noun

letter (plural letters)

1. One who lets, or lets out.

   the letter of a room

   a blood-letter

2. (archaic) One who retards or hinders.

Derived terms

• bloodletter

Translations

Further reading

• letter on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• letter (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “letter”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “letter”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• lettre, tetrel

Afrikaans letter definition

Etymology

From Dutch letter, from Middle Dutch lettere, from Old French lettre, from Latin littera.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ.tər/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

letter (plural letters, diminutive lettertjie)

1. letter (letter of the alphabet)

Derived terms

• hoofletter
• letterkunde

Dutch letter definition

Etymology

From Middle Dutch lettere, from Old French lettre, from Latin littera.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ.tər/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: let‧ter
• Rhymes: -ɛtər

Noun

letter f (plural letters, diminutive lettertje n)

1. letter (letter of the alphabet)
2. (obsolete) letter (written message)

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: letter
• Negerhollands: letter
• → Caribbean Javanese: lèter
• → Indonesian: leter
• → Japanese: レッテル (retteru)
• → Papiamentu: lèter, lèterchi, letter
• → Saramaccan: letè

Norwegian Bokmål letter definition

Etymology 1

Verb

letter

1. present of lette

Etymology 2

Noun

letter m

1. indefinite plural of lett (non-standard since 2005)

Norwegian Nynorsk letter definition

Noun

letter m

1. indefinite plural of lett (non-standard since 2012)

Swedish letter definition

Noun

letter

1. indefinite plural of lett