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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary lit·er·al
ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin litteralis, from Latin, of a letter, from littera letter DATE 14th century 1. a. according with the letter of the scriptures b. adhering to fact or to the ordinary construction or primary meaning of a term or expression : actual liberty in the literal sense is impossible — B. N. Cardozo c. free from exaggeration or embellishment the literal truth d. characterized by a concern mainly with facts a very literal man 2. of, relating to, or expressed in letters 3. reproduced word for word : exact , verbatim a literal translation
noun DATE 1622 : a small error usually of a single letter (as in writing) English Etymology literal late 14c., "taking words in their natural meaning" (originally in reference to Scripture and opposed to mystical or allegorical), from O.Fr . literal, from L.L. lit(t)eralis "of or belonging to letters or writing," from L. lit(t)era "letter." Sense of "verbally exact" is attested from 1590s. Literal-minded is attested from 1869.http://O.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 literal lit·eral / 5litErEl / adjective1. [usually before noun] being the basic or usual meaning of a word or phrase 字面意义的: I am not referring to 'small' people in the literal sense of the word. 我指的不是字面意义上的"小"人。 The literal meaning of 'petrify' is 'turn to stone'. petrify 的字面意思是 turn to stone (变成石头)。 ⇨ compare figurative (1), metaphorical 2. [usually before noun] that follows the original words exactly 完全按原文的: a literal translation 直译 ⇨ compare free adj. (13) 3. (disapproving) lacking imagination 缺乏想像力的: Her interpretation of the music was too literal. 她演奏的音乐太平淡乏味。 • lit·er·al·ness noun [U] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition adj. Function: adjective Synonyms: VERBATIM , verbal, word-for-wordWebster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged lit·er·al I. \ˈlid.ərəl, ˈlitər-, ˈli.trəl\ adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin litteralis, literalis, from Latin, of a letter, of writing, from littera, litera letter & litterae, literae epistle, writing + -alis -al — more at letter 1. a. : according with the letter of the scriptures < amillennialists recognize the need for literal interpretation — Bibliotheca Sacra > b. : adhering to fact or to the ordinary construction or primary meaning of a term or expression : actual , obvious < the need for a literal breathing spell forces the fish to let go — L.P.Schultz > < a literal solitude like a desert — G.K.Chesterton > < liberty in the literal sense is impossible — B.N.Cardozo > < reactionary in the literal sense of the word, but did not agree … how far back they wanted to go — William Peterson > c. : being without exaggeration or embellishment : plain , unadorned < literal prose > < a love of literal truth — Robert Graves > d. : characterized by a concern mainly with facts : prosaic , unimaginative < the opposite of a liberal education … is a literal education — Sidney Hook > < if a painter tells a story … even the most literal person will have no difficulty in understanding what the artist is trying to say — Huntington Hartford > < statue … dressed as he had been when alive, in accordance with the literal standards of late-century monumental sculpture — J.T.Soby > < a literal and academic reading of a classic score — Virgil Thomson > 2. a. : of, relating to, or expressed in letters < the distress signal SOS has no literal meaning > < literal coefficient > < cryptographic codes may be either literal or numerical > b. : resulting from the mistaken use or omission of a letter < literal error > 3. : reproduced word for word : exact , verbatim < literal translation > II. noun (-s) : a small error usually of a single letter in writing or printing < in setting type, allow enough space so that a line will accommodate any literal the proofreader may find > |
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