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.