| 1 | English | literate | Able to read and write; having literacy;... |
| 2 | Middle English | litterate | — |
| 3 | Latin | litteratus | learned, educated, scholarly, literate; cultured,... |
| 4 | Latin | littera | a letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,... |
| 5 | Latin | lītera | — |
| 6 | Old Latin | leitera | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂leyH- | to smear |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leyh₂- | to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,... |