letter

English Online Dictionary. What means letter‎? What does letter mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛtə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛtɚ/, [-ɾɚ]
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈletə/, [-ɾə]
• 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”). 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.
2. A written or printed communication, generally longer and more formal than a note.
3. The literal meaning of something, as distinguished from its intended and remoter meaning (the spirit).
4. (in the plural) Literature.

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.

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).

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.

2. (archaic) One who retards or hinders.

Derived terms

• bloodletter

Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

letter (plural letters)

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of litter.

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• lettre, tetrel

Afrikaans

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ.tər/

Noun

letter (plural letters, diminutive lettertjie)

1. letter (letter of the alphabet)

Derived terms

• hoofletter
• letterkunde

Dutch

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ.tər/
• 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

Etymology 1

Verb

letter

1. present of lette

Etymology 2

Noun

letter m

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

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

letter m

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

Swedish

Noun

letter

1. indefinite plural of lett