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literature definition

lit·era·ture (lit′ər ə c̸hər, li′trə-)

noun

  1. the profession of an author; production of writings, esp. of imaginative prose, verse, etc.
    1. all writings in prose or verse, esp. those of an imaginative or critical character, without regard to their excellence: often distinguished from scientific writing, news reporting, etc.
    2. all of such writings considered as having permanent value, excellence of form, great emotional effect, etc.
    3. all the writings of a particular time, country, region, etc., specif. those regarded as having lasting value because of their beauty, imagination, etc. American literature
    4. all the writings dealing with a particular subject the medical literature
  3. all the compositions for a specific musical instrument, voice, or ensemble
  4. printed matter of any kind, as advertising, campaign leaflets, etc.
  5. Archaic acquaintance with books; literary knowledge

Etymology: ME litterature < OFr < L litteratura < littera, letter

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

literature Synonyms

literature

n.

  1. Artistic production in language

    letters, lore, belles-lettres, literary works, literary productions, writing, the humanities, classics, books, polite literature, polite letters, republic of letters, writings; see also biography, drama 1, exposition 2, history 2, novel, poetry, record 1, 2, story, writing 2.

    Great bodies of literature include: Greek, Latin, Egyptian, Sanskrit, Icelandic, Hebraic, Arabic, Coptic, Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Hindu, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Provençal, Slavic.

  2. Periods in western literature include: classical, heroic, medieval, neoclassical, renaissance, Georgian, pseudoclassical, Augustan, Romantic, Victorian, contemporary, modern, recent, twentieth-century, postmodern.

  3. Written matter treating a given subject

    discourse, composition, treatise, dissertation, thesis, tract, paper, theme, treatment, disquisition, essay, discussion, research, observation, comment, findings, abstract, précis, report, critique, summary; see also article 3, exposition 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

literature Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • publish: There is limited published literature on late 18th century English glass.

Adjective modifier

  • promotional: The company requires that the name of ' The Air Gallery ' be used in all promotional literature used by the hirer.

Modifies a noun

  • review: Also, during these meetings, the advisor suggested readings for literature review.

Noun used with modifier

  • wisdom: There is a degree of resonance with some of the wisdom literature in Proverbs.
literature usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

literature quotes

So we have the Philistine of genius in religionöLuther; the Philistine of genius in politicsöCromwell; the Philistine of genius in literatureöBunyan.

-Arnold, Matthew

   Hebelievesthat sciencefictionistheapocalyptic literature of the 20th century, the authentic language of Auschwitz, Eniwetok and Aldermaston.He also believes that inner space, not outer, isthe real subject of science fiction.

-Ballard,J(ames) G(raham)

If photography is allowed to stand in forart in some of its functions it will soon supplant or corrupt it completely thankstothenatural support it will find inthestupidityof themultitude.It must return toits real task, which isto be the servant of the sciences and the arts, but the very humble servant, like printing and shorthand which have neither created nor supplanted literature.

-Baudelaire, Charles

literature quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"literature." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/literature>

APA Style

literature. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/literature

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