literatus [lit-uh-rah-tuh s, -rey-] Examples noun
- singular of literati.
literati [lit-uh-rah-tee] plural noun, singular lit·e·ra·tus [lit-uh-rah-tuh s,] /ˌlɪt əˈrɑ təs,/.
- persons of scholarly or literary attainments; intellectuals.
Origin of literati 1615–25; Latin līterāti learned, scholarly people, noun use of plural of līterātus. See literate Examples from the Web for literatus Historical Examples of literatus
The literatus who realized this had his own message in mind.
Walt Whitman
Huc advolarunt tres viri, duo lanifices, literarum rudes, literatus tertius est.
History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, Volume III
J. H. Merle D’Aubign
This species is closely allied to the M. literatus of Brullé; but it differs too much, I think, to be identical with it.
Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society – Vol. 3
Various
The school of the literatus was much better than that of the literator, but it reached only a limited number of the Roman youth.
Levi Seeley
British Dictionary definitions for literatus literati pl n
- literary or scholarly people
Word Origin for literati C17: from Latin Word Origin and History for literatus literati n.
“men and women of letters; the learned class as a whole,” 1620s, from Latin literati/litterati, plural of literatus/litteratus “lettered” (see literate). The proper singular would be literatus, though Italian literato (1704) sometimes is used.