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For us Africans, literature must serve a purpose: to expose, embarrass, and fight corruption and authoritarianism. It is understandable why the African artist is utilitarian.
Ama Ata Aidoo

Meaning of "literature" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LITERATURE

From Latin litterātūra writing.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF LITERATURE

literature  [ˈlɪtərɪtʃə] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LITERATURE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Literature is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES LITERATURE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

literature

Literature

Literature, in its broadest sense, is any written work; etymologically the term derives from Latin literatura/litteratura "writing formed with letters", although some definitions include spoken or sung texts. More restrictively, it is writing that possesses literary merit, and language that foregrounds literariness, as opposed to ordinary language. Literature can be classified according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction, and whether it is poetry or prose; it can be further distinguished according to major forms such as the novel, short story or drama; and works are often categorised according to historical periods, or according to their adherence to certain aesthetic features or expectations. Taken to mean only written works, literature was first produced by some of the world's earliest civilizations—those of Ancient Egypt and Sumeria—as early as the 4th millennium BC; taken to include spoken or sung texts, it originated even earlier, and some of the first written works may have been based on an already-existing oral tradition. As urban cultures and societies developed, there was a proliferation in the forms of literature.

Definition of literature in the English dictionary

The first definition of literature in the dictionary is written material such as poetry, novels, essays, etc, esp works of imagination characterized by excellence of style and expression and by themes of general or enduring interest. Other definition of literature is the body of written work of a particular culture or people. Literature is also written or printed matter of a particular type or on a particular subject.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH LITERATURE


contemperature
kənˈtɛmprɪtʃə
dictature
dɪkˈteɪtʃə
distemperature
dɪsˈtemprɪtʃə
enricher
ɪnˈrɪtʃə
expenditure
ɪkˈspɛndɪtʃə
forfeiture
ˈfɔːfɪtʃə
furniture
ˈfɜːnɪtʃə
garniture
ˈɡɑːnɪtʃə
investiture
ɪnˈvɛstɪtʃə
legislature
ˈlɛdʒɪsˌleɪtʃə
miniature
ˈmɪnɪtʃə
nature
ˈneɪtʃə
nouriture
ˈnʌrɪtʃə
nourriture
ˈnʌrɪtʃə
pitcher
ˈpɪtʃə
portraiture
ˈpɔːtrɪtʃə
signature
ˈsɪɡnɪtʃə
stitcher
ˈstɪtʃə
switcher
ˈswɪtʃə
temperature
ˈtɛmprɪtʃə

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE LITERATURE

literalness
literarily
literariness
literary
literary agency
literary agent
literary critic
literary criticism
literary editor
literary remains
literary theory
literaryism
literate
literately
literateness
literati
literatim
literation
literator
literatured

WORDS THAT END LIKE LITERATURE

adventure
armature
by nature
candidature
caricature
creature
curvature
feature
human nature
immature
mature
Mother Nature
nomenclature
ossature
premature
room temperature
special feature
State legislature
stature
tablature
the course of nature

Synonyms and antonyms of literature in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «LITERATURE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «literature» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of literature

Translation of «literature» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF LITERATURE

Find out the translation of literature to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of literature from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «literature» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

文学作品
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

literatura
570 millions of speakers

English

literature
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

साहित्य
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

أَدَبُ
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

литература
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

literatura
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

সাহিত্য
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

littérature
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Kesusasteraan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Literatur
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

文学
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

문학
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Sastra
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

văn học
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

இலக்கியம்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

साहित्य
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Edebiyat
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

letteratura
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

literatura
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

література
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

literatură
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

λογοτεχνία
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

literatuur
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

litteratur
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

litteratur
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of literature

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «LITERATURE»

The term «literature» is very widely used and occupies the 3.255 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
98
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «literature» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of literature
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «literature».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «LITERATURE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «literature» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «literature» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about literature

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «LITERATURE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word literature.
1
Chris Abani
I read mostly Irish, African, Japanese, South American, and African writers. You can count on Scandinavian literature for a certain kind of darkness, a modern mythic style.
2
Patch Adams
I first came to Russia because of the culture, literature and music... and my interest in the 19th-century revolutionary spirit of Herzen, Bakunin and Kropotkin. Russia is a wonderful place to bring new clowns because Russians give back a wonderful response.
3
Ama Ata Aidoo
For us Africans, literature must serve a purpose: to expose, embarrass, and fight corruption and authoritarianism. It is understandable why the African artist is utilitarian.
4
Sherman Alexie
I thought I'd been condescended to as an Indian - that was nothing compared to the condescension for writing young adult literature.
5
Armand Assante
Literature is air, and I'm suffocating in mediocrity.
6
Sherman Austin
When they were done downloading all the information off each hard drive, they took all the computers, all the literature, and loaded everything into a big white truck and left.
7
Fredrik Bajer
Indeed; peace literature is almost exclusively read, though to good effect, by pacifists, while what is needed is the canvassing of those who have not so far been won to the cause.
8
Russell Baker
There is a growing literature about the multitude of journalism's problems, but most of it is concerned with the editorial side of the business, possibly because most people competent to write about journalism are not comfortable writing about finance.
9
Tom Baker
It's funny, in literature no one ever goes to the lavatory.
10
Caitriona Balfe
The herbalist I met a few times - it was great - she gave me literature about the different processes that an herbalist would do to make medicines from certain herbs and things.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LITERATURE»

Discover the use of literature in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to literature and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Literature
This volume offers a concise history of the canonic concept of 'literature' from its earliest origins, illustrates the kinds of theoretical issues which are currently invoked by the term 'literary', and promotes the potential 'uses of the ...
Peter Widdowson, 1999
2
Politics of Literature
This book seeks to show how the literary revolution shatters the perceptible order that underpinned traditional hierarchies, but also why literary equality foils any bid to place literature in the service of politics or in its place.
Jacques Ranciere, 2011
3
The History of Polish Literature
This book is a survey of Polish letters and culture from its beginnings to modern times. Czeslaw Milosz updated this edition in 1983 and added an epilogue to bring the discussion up to date.
Czesław Miłosz, 1983
4
Professing Literature: An Institutional History, Twentieth ...
Widely considered the standard history of the profession of literary studies, Professing Literature unearths the long-forgotten ideas and debates that created the literature department as we know it today.
Gerald Graff, 2008
5
Gothic Literature
This book opens with a chronology and an introduction to the principal texts and key critical terms, and ends with a conclusion outlining possible future developments within scholarship on the Gothic.
Andrew Smith, 2007
6
Philosophy and Literature: An Introduction
This book also investigates the nature of interpretation and its sources of authority, how literary forms can be read as vehicles for the development of philosophical problems, and how different philosophical forms can be analysed as using ...
Ole Martin Skilleås, 2001
7
African Literature: Overview and Bibliography
This book presents an overview of African literature as well as a comprehensive bibliography, primarily of English language sources. Accessed by subject, author and title indexes.
Jonathan P. Smithe, 2002
8
Ancient Egyptian Literature: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
Chronologically arranged translations of ancient Egyptian writings shed light upon the development of diverse literary forms. Bibliogs.
Miriam Lichtheim, 1975
9
Canadian Literature
Viewers are introduced to the work of English and French Canadian authors through readings and dramatizations.
Faye Hammill, 2007
10
A History of Canadian Literature
The definitive text on Canadian literature.
W.H. New, 2003

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LITERATURE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term literature is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Gay literature is firmly out of the closet in India - Quartz
Even as same-sex couples in India struggle to gain legal recognition, in literature they are the heroes and heroines. Over the years, a number ... «Quartz, Jul 15»
2
Dining Review: New lounge takes a page from literature - Glendale …
Needless to say, my literature-saturated 20-year old, who's also copy editor of the UCSB newspaper, had high hopes. She helped me write this ... «Glendale News Press, Jul 15»
3
Southbank releases literature festival line up | The Bookseller
A four-day live reading of Herman Melville's Moby Dick featuring actors and writers including Liza Klaussmann, Chibundu Onuzo and A L ... «The Bookseller, Jul 15»
4
The Obsessively Detailed Map of American Literature's Most Epic …
... result of a painstaking and admittedly quixotic effort to catalog the country as it has been described in the American road-tripping literature. «Atlas Obscura, Jul 15»
5
Etisalat Prize for Literature 2015 opens; Molara Wood, others, to …
Nigeria's telecommunications company, Etisalat has announced the call for entries for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature which is in its third ... «Premium Times, Jul 15»
6
Rainbow literature's bright and bold legacy - Independent.ie
Rainbow literature's bright and bold legacy. The Legacy of Gay Literature: What difference will marriage equality make ... «Irish Independent, Jul 15»
7
Children's librarian brings love of literature to her job
FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Keene Memorial Library Children's Librarian Laura England-Biggs' office is hidden away, off the main storage room ... «KSL.com, Jul 15»
8
Why don't literature students read any real literature before college?
A literature teacher mourns the shallow reading her students bring into the classroom, and offers a more rewarding list. Saloni Sharma ... «Scroll.in, Jul 15»
9
Building ties through art and literature - The Hindu
Building ties through art and literature ... To celebrate 2015 as the Year of Literature in Russia, the Russian Centre of Science and Culture in ... «The Hindu, Jul 15»
10
9 Polyvore Sets For Literature Inspired Fashion Because There's …
These “sets,” as the site calls them, can be inspired by anything: Music, art, pop culture, or even — my personal favorite — fashion inspired by literature. I read a ... «Bustle, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Literature [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/literature>. Apr 2024 ».
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