unliteraladj.n.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈlɪt(ə)rəl/, /(ˌ)ʌnˈlɪt(ə)rl̩/, U.S. /ˌənˈlɪdərəl/, /ˌənˈlɪtrəl/ Not literal; esp. allegorical or metaphorical in character. Also as n. (with the): that which is not literal. Cf. non-literal adj. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > literal meaning > [adjective] > not
unliteral1667
non-literal1856
1667 A. Woodhead Guide in Controv. iv. i. 336 No term thereof can possibly be distinguished, or taken in a diverse or unliteral sence.
1735 P. Delany Revelation Examined with Candour (new ed.) I. v. 69 By what rule of rational interpretation that other tree,..whose fruit God..prohibited Adam to eat, should be understood of an unreal, unliteral tree, is..beyond my comprehension.
1765 B. Dawson Illustr. Several Texts Script. 290 This is unliteral, and makes Nonsense.
1851 G. S. Faber Many Mansions 368 The completely unliteral freedom of the Latin Vulgate.
1857 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 249 Not only..unliteral, but I doubt unoriental, in its form and Expression.
1921 PMLA 36 6 However unliteral or unorthodox Milton may have become, there was..a final stage in which he was consistent with himself.
1956 E. Ernst Kabuki Theatre iii. 78 The surface of the poem consists of precise, concrete images while beneath..lies the undefined and the unliteral.
2000 Independent (Nexis) 26 Mar. (Features section) 26 Jones and his designers..feel no need to take this most unliteral opera literally.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1667