literary









literary


literary [lit-uh-rer-ee] ExamplesWord Origin adjective

  1. pertaining to or of the nature of books and writings, especially those classed as literature: literary history.
  2. pertaining to authorship: literary style.
  3. versed in or acquainted with literature; well-read.
  4. engaged in or having the profession of literature or writing: a literary man.
  5. characterized by an excessive or affected display of learning; stilted; pedantic.
  6. preferring books to actual experience; bookish.

Origin of literary 1640–50; Latin līterārius, litterārius of reading and writing. See letter1, -ary Related formslit·er·ar·i·ly, adverblit·er·ar·i·ness, nounnon·lit·er·ar·i·ly, adverbnon·lit·er·ar·i·ly·ness, nounnon·lit·er·ar·i·ness, nounnon·lit·er·ar·y, adjectiveo·ver·lit·er·ar·i·ly, adverbo·ver·lit·er·ar·i·ness, nouno·ver·lit·er·ar·y, adjectivepre·lit·er·ar·y, adjectivepseu·do·lit·er·ar·y, adjectivequa·si-lit·er·ar·y, adjectiveun·lit·er·ar·y, adjectiveUsage note In this dictionary, the label Literary is assigned to an entry term or definition that is used rarely in contemporary speech or writing except to create a literary, poetic, or evocative effect. Examples from the Web for literarily Contemporary Examples of literarily

  • Like Nate, the novel is literarily self-conscious, but Nate often reads to show off.

    How to Get Laid in Brooklyn a la Adelle Waldman’s Nifty Novel of Manners

    Tom LeClair

    July 25, 2014

  • Historical Examples of literarily

  • Our drama is literally and literarily a farce, and no drama that any one expects to live has been written for more than a century.

    Education: How Old The New

    James J. Walsh

  • It must have become evident from this incomplete review that Iowa is literarily, to say the least, no longer inarticulate.

    Prairie Gold

    Various

  • British Dictionary definitions for literarily literary adjective

    1. of, relating to, concerned with, or characteristic of literature or scholarly writinga literary discussion; a literary style
    2. versed in or knowledgeable about literaturea literary man
    3. (of a word) formal; not colloquial

    Derived Formsliterarily, adverbliterariness, nounWord Origin for literary C17: from Latin litterārius concerning reading and writing. See letter Word Origin and History for literarily literary adj.

    1640s, “pertaining to alphabet letters,” from French littéraire, from Latin literarius/litterarius “belonging to letters or learning,” from littera/litera “letter” (see letter (n.1)). Meaning “pertaining to literature” is attested from 1737.

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