What does literature mean?
Definitions for literature
ˈlɪt ər ə tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər, ˈlɪ trə-lit·er·a·ture
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word literature.
Princeton's WordNet
literature(noun)
creative writing of recognized artistic value
literature, lit(noun)
the humanistic study of a body of literature
"he took a course in Russian lit"
literature(noun)
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"
literature(noun)
the profession or art of a writer
"her place in literature is secure"
Wiktionary
literature(Noun)
The body of all written works.
Etymology: From literatura or litteratura.
literature(Noun)
The collected creative writing of a nation, people, group or culture.
Etymology: From literatura or litteratura.
literature(Noun)
All the papers, treatises etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject.
Etymology: From literatura or litteratura.
literature(Noun)
Written fiction of a high standard.
SF is rarely literature because the characters are so poorly realised. - Adam Cadre
Etymology: From literatura or litteratura.
Webster Dictionary
Literature(noun)
learning; acquaintance with letters or books
Literature(noun)
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
Literature(noun)
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
Literature(noun)
the occupation, profession, or business of doing literary work
Freebase
Literature
Literature is the art of written work and can, in some circumstances, refer exclusively to published sources. The word literature literally means "things made from letters" and the pars pro toto term "letters" is sometimes used to signify "literature," as in the figures of speech "arts and letters" and "man of letters." Literature is commonly classified as having two major forms—fiction & non-fiction—and two major techniques—poetry and prose. Literature may consist of texts based on factual information, as well as on original imagination, such as polemical works as well as autobiography, and reflective essays as well as belles-lettres. Literature can be classified according to historical periods, genres, and political influences. The concept of genre, which earlier was limited, has broadened over the centuries. A genre consists of artistic works which fall within a certain central theme, and examples of genre include romance, mystery, crime, fantasy, erotica, and adventure, among others. Important historical periods in English literature include Old English, Middle English, the Renaissance, the 17th Century Shakespearean and Elizabethan times, the 18th Century Restoration, 19th Century Victorian, and 20th Century Modernism. Important intellectual movements that have influenced the study of literature include feminism, post-colonialism, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, post-modernism, romanticism, and Marxism.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Literature
lit′ėr-a-tūr, n. the science of letters or what is written: the whole body of literary compositions in any language, or on a given subject: all literary productions except those relating to positive science and art, usually confined, however, to the belles-lettres.—adj. Lit′eratured (Shak.), learned, having literary knowledge.—Light literature, books which can be read and understood without mental exertion: fiction; Polite literature, belles-lettres. [Fr.,—L. literatura—litera, a letter.]
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
Literature
defined by Carlyle "as an 'apocalypse of nature,' a revealing of the 'open secret,' a 'continuous revelation' of the God-like in the terrestrial and common, which ever endures there, and is brought out now in this dialect, now in that, with various degrees of clearness ... there being touches of it (i. e. the God-like) in the dark stormful indignation of a Byron, nay, in the withered mockery of a French sceptic, his mockery of the false, a love and worship of the true ... how much more in the sphere harmony of a Shakespeare, the cathedral music of a Milton; something of it too in those humble, genuine, lark-notes of a Burns, skylark starting from the humble furrow far overhead into the blue depths, and singing to us so genuinely there."
The Roycroft Dictionary
literature
The art of saying a thing by saying something else just as good.
U.S. National Library of Medicine
Literature
Writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest. The body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age. (Webster, 3d ed)
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'literature' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1951
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'literature' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4389
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'literature' in Nouns Frequency: #886
Anagrams for literature »
literatuer
literateur
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of literature in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of literature in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3
Examples of literature in a Sentence
You write in order to change the world, knowing perfectly well that you probably can't, but also knowing that literature is indispensable to the world... The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way ... people look at reality, then you can change it.
There is in fact no such thing as art for art's sake, art that stands above classes, art that is detached from or independent of politics. Proletarian literature and art are part of the whole proletarian revolutionary cause.
The reading public is intellectually adolescent at best, and it is obvious that what is called significant literature will only be sold to this public by exactly the same methods as are used to sell it toothpaste, cathartics and automobiles.
As someone who really knows well the literature and research about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), our primary policy intervention against food insecurity, giving people access to food or resources to food is really important early identification of risk factors for both food insecurity and mental health problems are critical, and pediatricians can be instrumental in connecting families to available resources in their communities.
Literature that is not the breath of contemporary society, that dares not transmit the pains and fears of that society, that does not warn in time against threatening moral and social dangers -- such literature does not deserve the name of literature; it is only a fa?ade. Such literature loses the confidence of its own people, and its published works are used as wastepaper instead of being read.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for literature
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- literaturaAragonese
- الأدبArabic
- ədəbiyyatAzerbaijani
- әҙәбиәтBashkir
- літарату́раBelarusian
- литератураBulgarian
- সাহিত্যBengali
- literaturaCatalan, Valencian
- literaturaCzech
- llênWelsh
- litteraturDanish
- LiteraturGerman
- λογοτεχνία, βιβλιογραφίαGreek
- literaturoEsperanto
- literaturaSpanish
- literatuurEstonian
- literaturaBasque
- ادبیات, ادبPersian
- kirjallisuusFinnish
- bókmentirFaroese
- littératureFrench
- literatuerWestern Frisian
- litríochtIrish
- litreachasScottish Gaelic
- literaturaGalician
- ספרותHebrew
- साहित्यHindi
- irodalomHungarian
- գրականությունArmenian
- litteraturaInterlingua
- kesusasteraanIndonesian
- literaturoIdo
- bókmenntirIcelandic
- letteraturaItalian
- 文献, 文学, 資料Japanese
- sastraJavanese
- ლიტერატურაGeorgian
- әдебиетKazakh
- ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯKannada
- 문학Korean
- litteraeLatin
- LiteraturLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- literatuurLimburgish, Limburgan, Limburger
- literatūraLithuanian
- literatūraLatvian
- mātātuhiMāori
- литератураMacedonian
- സാഹിത്യംMalayalam
- persuratan, kesusasteraan, sasteraMalay
- letteraturaMaltese
- litteraturNorwegian
- साहित्यNepali
- literatuurDutch
- litteraturNorwegian
- literaturaOccitan
- ସାହିତ୍ୟOriya
- literaturaPolish
- literaturaPortuguese
- literaturăRomanian
- литератураRussian
- књижевност, književnost, literaturaSerbo-Croatian
- literatúraSlovak
- literaturaSlovene
- literaturë, letërsiAlbanian
- litteraturSwedish
- இலக்கியம்Tamil
- วรรณกรรมThai
- panitikan, literaturaTagalog
- edebiyat, yazın, literatürTurkish
- ئەدەبىياتUyghur, Uighur
- літератураUkrainian
- ادبUrdu
- văn học, văn chươngVietnamese
- literatVolapük
- 文学Chinese
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"literature." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 27 Feb. 2021. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/literature>.