Where does “literary” come from?
Literary comes from French littéraire, derived from Latin litterarius relating to letters, from Latin littera meaning letter of the alphabet, from Ancient Greek διφθέρα meaning leather or writing surface, ultimately from Old Latin leitera.
literary (English): Relating to literature; Relating to writers, or...
Definitions
- Relating to literature; Relating to writers, or...
Ancestry of “literary”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | littéraire | literary |
| 2 | Latin | litterarius | literary: Of or about literature or writing |
| 3 | Latin | littera | a letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,... |
| 4 | Latin | lītera | — |
| 5 | Old Latin | leitera | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂leyH- | to smear |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leyh₂- | to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,... |