Where does “литература” come from?

литература (Serbo-Croatian) comes from Latin litterātūra, from Latin littera, from Latin lītera, from Old Latin leitera, from Proto-Indo-European h₂leyH-, from Proto-Indo-European leyh₂- — to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,...

литература (Serbo-Croatian): literature

Definitions

literature

Ancestry of “литература”, step by step

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Latin	litterātūra	lettering; alphabet
2	Latin	littera	a letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,...
3	Latin	lītera	—
4	Old Latin	leitera	—
5	Proto-Indo-European	h₂leyH-	to smear
6	Proto-Indo-European	leyh₂-	to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,...

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leyh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂leyH- →Every word from Old Latin leitera →