letter

let·ter

L0131000 (lĕt′ər)n.1. a. A written symbol or character representing a speech sound and being a component of an alphabet.b. A written symbol or character used in the graphemic representation of a word, such as the h in Thames. See Note at Thames.2. A written or printed communication directed to a person or organization.3. often letters A certified document granting rights to its bearer.4. Literal meaning: had to adhere to the letter of the law.5. letters(used with a sing. verb)a. Literary culture; belles-lettres.b. Learning or knowledge, especially of literature.c. Literature or writing as a profession.6. Printing a. A piece of type that prints a single character.b. A specific style of type.c. The characters in one style of type.7. An emblem in the shape of the initial of a school awarded for outstanding performance, especially in varsity athletics.v. let·tered, let·ter·ing, let·ters v.tr.1. To write letters on: lettered the paper.2. To write in letters: lettered our name on the mailbox.v.intr.1. To write or form letters.2. To earn a school letter, as for outstanding athletic achievement: She lettered in three collegiate sports.Idiom: to the letter To the last detail; exactly: followed instructions to the letter.

[Middle English, from Old French lettre, from Latin littera, perhaps from Etruscan, from Greek diphtherā, hide, leather, writing surface.]

let′ter·er n.Synonyms: letter, epistle, memorandum, missive, note
These nouns denote a written communication directed to another: received a letter of complaint; the Epistles of the New Testament; a memorandum outlining the attendance policy; a missive of condolence; a thank-you note.

letter

(ˈlɛtə) n1. (Linguistics) any of a set of conventional symbols used in writing or printing a language, each symbol being associated with a group of phonetic values in the language; character of the alphabet2. a written or printed communication addressed to a person, company, etc, usually sent by post in an envelope. 3. the letter the strict legalistic or pedantic interpretation of the meaning of an agreement, document, etc; exact wording as distinct from actual intention (esp in the phrase the letter of the law). Compare spirit¹¹⁰4. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing archaic a style of typeface: a fancy letter. 5. to the letter a. following the literal interpretation or wording exactlyb. attending to every detailvb6. to write or mark letters on (a sign, etc), esp by hand7. (tr) to set down or print using letters[C13: from Old French lettre, from Latin littera letter of the alphabet] ˈletterer n

let•ter

(ˈlɛt ər)
n. 1. a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usu. transmitted by mail. 2. a symbol or character that is conventionally used in writing and printing to represent a speech sound and is part of an alphabet. 3. a piece of printing type bearing such a symbol or character. 4. a particular style of type. 5. Often, letters. a formal document granting a right or privilege. 6. actual terms or wording; literal meaning, as distinct from implied meaning or intent (opposed to spirit): the letter of the law. 7. letters, (used with a sing. or pl. v.) a. literature in general. b. the profession of literature. c. learning; knowledge, esp. of literature. 8. an emblem consisting of the initial or monogram of a school, awarded to a student for accomplishment, esp. in athletics. v.t. 9. to mark or write with letters; inscribe. v.i. 10. to earn a letter in a school activity, esp. a sport. Idioms: to the letter, to the last particular; precisely. [1175–1225; Middle English, variant of lettre < Old French < Latin littera alphabetic character, in pl., epistle, literature] let′ter•er, n.

letter

Past participle: lettered
Gerund: lettering

Imperative
letter
letter

Present
I letter
you letter
he/she/it letters
we letter
you letter
they letter

Preterite
I lettered
you lettered
he/she/it lettered
we lettered
you lettered
they lettered

Present Continuous
I am lettering
you are lettering
he/she/it is lettering
we are lettering
you are lettering
they are lettering

Present Perfect
I have lettered
you have lettered
he/she/it has lettered
we have lettered
you have lettered
they have lettered

Past Continuous
I was lettering
you were lettering
he/she/it was lettering
we were lettering
you were lettering
they were lettering

Past Perfect
I had lettered
you had lettered
he/she/it had lettered
we had lettered
you had lettered
they had lettered

Future
I will letter
you will letter
he/she/it will letter
we will letter
you will letter
they will letter

Future Perfect
I will have lettered
you will have lettered
he/she/it will have lettered
we will have lettered
you will have lettered
they will have lettered

Future Continuous
I will be lettering
you will be lettering
he/she/it will be lettering
we will be lettering
you will be lettering
they will be lettering

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been lettering
you have been lettering
he/she/it has been lettering
we have been lettering
you have been lettering
they have been lettering

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been lettering
you will have been lettering
he/she/it will have been lettering
we will have been lettering
you will have been lettering
they will have been lettering

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been lettering
you had been lettering
he/she/it had been lettering
we had been lettering
you had been lettering
they had been lettering

Conditional
I would letter
you would letter
he/she/it would letter
we would letter
you would letter
they would letter

Past Conditional
I would have lettered
you would have lettered
he/she/it would have lettered
we would have lettered
you would have lettered
they would have lettered

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	letter - a written message addressed to a person or organization; "mailed an indignant letter to the editor"missivedocument - anything serving as a representation of a person's thinking by means of symbolic marksmail - the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal servicetext, textual matter - the words of something written; "there were more than a thousand words of text"; "they handed out the printed text of the mayor's speech"; "he wants to reconstruct the original text"correspondence - communication by the exchange of lettersbusiness letter - a letter dealing with businesscover letter, covering letter - a letter sent along with other documents to provide additional informationcrank letter - a hostile (usually anonymous) letterencyclical, encyclical letter - a letter from the pope sent to all Roman Catholic bishops throughout the worldfan letter - a letter that is a piece of fan mailpersonal letter - a letter dealing with personal affairsform letter - a letter that is printed in multiple copies and mailed to a list of recipientsopen letter - a letter of protest; addressed to one person but intended for the general publicchain letter - a letter that is sent successively to several peoplepastoral - a letter from a pastor to the congregationround robin - a letter signed by a number of peopleaerogram, aerogramme, air letter, airmail letter - a letter sent by air mailepistle - a specially long, formal letterdead mail, dead letter - mail that can neither be delivered nor returnedletter of intent - any letter expressing an intention to take (or forgo) some actionpostscript, PS - a note appended to a letter after the signaturename and address, destination, address - written directions for finding some location; written on letters or packages that are to be delivered to that locationline - text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen; "the letter consisted of three short lines"; "there are six lines in every stanza"invitation - a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something; "an invitation to lunch"; "she threw the invitation away"
	2.	letter - the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech; "his grandmother taught him his letters"alphabetic character, letter of the alphabetspelling - forming words with letters according to the principles underlying accepted usagealphabet - a character set that includes letters and is used to write a languagegrapheme, graphic symbol, character - a written symbol that is used to represent speech; "the Greek alphabet has 24 characters"ascender - a lowercase letter that has a part extending above other lowercase lettersdescender - a lowercase letter that has a part extending below other lowercase lettersdigram, digraph - two successive letters (especially two letters used to represent a single sound: `sh' in `shoe')initial - the first letter of a word (especially a person's name); "he refused to put the initials FRS after his name"a - the 1st letter of the Roman alphabetb - the 2nd letter of the Roman alphabetc - the 3rd letter of the Roman alphabetd - the 4th letter of the Roman alphabete - the 5th letter of the Roman alphabetf - the 6th letter of the Roman alphabetg - the 7th letter of the Roman alphabeth - the 8th letter of the Roman alphabeti - the 9th letter of the Roman alphabetj - the 10th letter of the Roman alphabetk - the 11th letter of the Roman alphabetl - the 12th letter of the Roman alphabetm - the 13th letter of the Roman alphabetn - the 14th letter of the Roman alphabeto - the 15th letter of the Roman alphabetp - the 16th letter of the Roman alphabetq - the 17th letter of the Roman alphabetr - the 18th letter of the Roman alphabets - the 19th letter of the Roman alphabett - the 20th letter of the Roman alphabetu - the 21st letter of the Roman alphabetv - the 22nd letter of the Roman alphabetdouble-u, w - the 23rd letter of the Roman alphabetx, ex - the 24th letter of the Roman alphabetwye, y - the 25th letter of the Roman alphabetezed, izzard, zed, zee, z - the 26th letter of the Roman alphabet; "the British call Z zed and the Scots call it ezed but Americans call it zee"; "he doesn't know A from izzard"alpha - the 1st letter of the Greek alphabetbeta - the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabetgamma - the 3rd letter of the Greek alphabetdelta - the 4th letter of the Greek alphabetepsilon - the 5th letter of the Greek alphabetzeta - the 6th letter of the Greek alphabeteta - the 7th letter of the Greek alphabettheta - the 8th letter of the Greek alphabetiota - the 9th letter of the Greek alphabetkappa - the 10th letter of the Greek alphabetlambda - the 11th letter of the Greek alphabetmu - the 12th letter of the Greek alphabetnu - the 13th letter of the Greek alphabetxi - the 14th letter of the Greek alphabetomicron - the 15th letter of the Greek alphabetpi - the 16th letter of the Greek alphabetrho - the 17th letter of the Greek alphabetsigma - the 18th letter of the Greek alphabettau - the 19th letter of the Greek alphabetupsilon - the 20th letter of the Greek alphabetphi - the 21st letter of the Greek alphabetkhi, chi - the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabetpsi - the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabetomega - the last (24th) letter of the Greek alphabetaleph - the 1st letter of the Hebrew alphabetbeth - the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabetgimel - the 3rd letter of the Hebrew alphabetdaleth - the 4th letter of the Hebrew alphabethe - the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabetwaw - the 6th letter of the Hebrew alphabetzayin - the 7th letter of the Hebrew alphabetheth - the 8th letter of the Hebrew alphabetteth - the 9th letter of the Hebrew alphabetyodh - the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabetkaph - the 11th letter of the Hebrew alphabetlamedh - the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabetmem - the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabetnun - the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabetsamekh - the 15th letter of the Hebrew alphabetayin - the 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabetpe - the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabetsadhe - the 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabetqoph - the 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet
	3.	letter - owner who lets another person use something (housing usually) for hireowner, proprietor - (law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business; "he is the owner of a chain of restaurants"
	4.	letter - a strictly literal interpretation (as distinct from the intention); "he followed instructions to the letter"; "he obeyed the letter of the law"literal interpretation - an interpretation based on the exact wording
	5.	letter - an award earned by participation in a school sport; "he won letters in three sports"varsity letteraccolade, honor, laurels, honour, award - a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction; "an award for bravery"
Verb	1.	letter - win an athletic letter garner, earn - acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions
	2.	letter - set down or print with letters print, impress - reproduce by printing
	3.	letter - mark letters on or mark with letterswrite - mark or trace on a surface; "The artist wrote Chinese characters on a big piece of white paper"; "Russian is written with the Cyrillic alphabet"

letter

noun1. message, line, answer, note, reply, communication, dispatch, acknowledgment, billet (archaic), missive, epistle I had received a letter from a very close friend.2. character, mark, sign, symbol the letters of the alphabetplural noun1. learning, education, culture, literature, humanities, scholarship, erudition, belles-lettres bon viveur, man of letters and long-time party supporterto the letter precisely, strictly, literally, exactly, faithfully, accurately, word for word, punctiliously She obeyed his instructions to the letter.Related words
adjective epistolatoryQuotations
"Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls" [John Donne To Sir Henry Wotton]
"All letters, methinks, should be free and easy as one's discourse, not studied as an oration, not made up of hard words like a charm" [Dorothy Osborne Letter to William Temple]

letter

nounA written communication directed to another:epistle, missive, note.

Translations

字母信信函

letter

(ˈletə) noun1. a mark expressing a sound. the letters of the alphabet.字母2. a written message, especially sent by post in an envelope. She slowly took the letter from its envelope; Did you post my letter?信ˈlettering noun1. the way in which letters are formed. the art of lettering. 写字，印字 2. letters which have been drawn, painted etc. He repainted the lettering over the shop door.印刷或手写的字体ˈletterbox noun1. a slit in a door (sometimes with a box behind it) through which mail from the post is put. He put the card through the letterbox.信箱2. a postbox. 邮筒ˈletterhead noun the name and address of a company, a person etc printed at the top of a piece of writing paper. 印有抬头的信笺to the letter precisely; according to every detail. He followed his father's instructions to the letter. 不折不扣地执行，一丝不苟地

letter

→ 信函zhCN, 字母zhCN

I'd like to send this letter → 我要寄这封信
I confirmed my reservation by letter (US)
I confirmed my booking by letter (UK) → 我通过信函确认过我的预订了呀？

Letter

Related to Letter: letter writing, Letter of recommendation

LETTER, com. law, Crim. law. An epistle; a despatch; a written message, usually on paper, which is folded up and sealed, sent by one person to another.
2. A letter is always presumed to be sealed, unless the presumption be rebutted. 1 Caines, R. 682. 1
3. This subject will be considered by 1st. Taking a view of the law relating to the transmission of letters through the post office; and, 2. The effect of letters in making contracts. 3. The ownership of letters sent and received.
4.-1. Letters are, commonly sent through the post office, and the law has carefully provided for their conveyance through the country, and their delivery to the persons to whom they are addressed. The act to reduce into one the several acts establishing and regulating the post office department, section 21, 3 Story's Laws United States, 1991, enacts, that if any person employed in any of the departments of the post office establishment, shall unlawfully detain, delay, or open, any letter, packet, bag, or mail of letters, with which he shall be entrusted, or which shall have come to his possession, and which are intended to be conveyed by post or, if any such person shall secrete, embezzle, or destroy, any letter or packet entrusted to such person as aforesaid, and which shall not contain any security for, or assurance relating to money, as hereinafter described, every such offender, being thereof duly convicted, shall, for every such offence, be fined, not exceeding three hundred dollars, or imprisoned, not exceeding six months, or both, according to the circumstances and aggravations of the offence. And if any person, employed as aforesaid, shall secrete, embezzle, or destroy any letter, packet, bag, or mail of letters, with which he or she shall be entrusted, or which shall have come to his or her possession, and are intended to be conveyed by post, containing any bank notes, or bank post bill, bill of exchange, warrant of the treasury of the United States, note of assignment of stock in the funds, letters of attorney for receiving annuities or dividends, or for, selling stock in the funds, or for receiving the interest thereof, or any letter of credit, or note for, or relating to, payment of moneys or any bond, or warrant, draft, bill, or promissory note, covenant, contract, or agreement whatsoever, for, or relating to, the payment of money, or the delivery of any article of value, or the performance of any act, matter, or thing, or any receipt, release, acquittance, or discharge of, or from, any debt; covenant, or demand, or any part thereof, or any copy of any record of any judgment or decree, in any court of law or chancery, or any execution which way may have issued thereon; or any copy of any other record, or any other article of value, or any writing representing the same or if any such person, employed as aforesaid, shall steal, or take, any of the same out of any letter, packet, bag, or mail of letters, that shall come to his or her possession, such person shall, on conviction for any such offence, be imprisoned not less than ten years, nor exceeding twenty-one years; and if any person who shall have taken charge of the mails of the United States, shall quit or desert the same before such person delivers it into the post office kept at the termination of the route, or some known mail carrier, or agent of the general post office, authorized to receive the same, every such person, so offending, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, for every such offence; and if any person concerned in carrying the mail of the United States, shall collect, receive, or carry any letter, or packet, or shall cause or procure the same to be done, contrary, to this act, every such offender shall forfeit and pay for every such offence a sum, not exceeding fifty dollars.
5.-2. Most contracts may be formed by correspondence; and cases not unfrequently arise where it is difficult to say whether the concurrence of the will of the contracting parties took place or not. In order to form a contract both parties must concur at the same time, or there is no agreement. Suppose, for example, that Paul of Philadelphia, is desirous of purchasing a thousand bales of cotton, and offers by letter to Peter of New Orleans, to buy them from him at a certain price; but on the next day he changes his mind, and then he writes to Peter that he withdraws his offer; or on the next day he dies; in either case, there is no contract, because Paul did not continue in the same disposition to buy the cotton, at the time that his offer was accepted. The precise moment when the consent of both parties is perfect, is, in strictness, when the person who made the offer becomes acquainted with the fact that it has been accepted. But this may be presumed from circumstances. The acceptance must be of the same precise terms without any variance whatever. 4 Wheat. 225; see 1 Pick. 278; 10 Pick. 326; 6 Wend. 103.
6.-3. A letter received by the person to whom it is directed, is the qualified property of such person: but where it is of a private nature, the receiver has no right to publish it without the consent of the writer, unless under very extraordinary circumstances; as, for example, when it is requisite to the defence of the character of the party who received it. 2 Ves. & B. 19; 2 Atk. 542; Amb. 737; 1 Ball. & B. 207; 1 Mart. (Lo.) R. 297; Denisart, verbo Lettres Missives. Vide Dead Letter; Jeopardy; Mail; Newspaper; Postage; Post Master General.

LETTER, contracts. In the civil law, locator, and in the French law, locateur, loueur, or bailleur, is he who, being the owner of a thing, lets it out to another for hire or compensation. See Hire; Locator; Conductor; Story on Bailm. Sec. 369.
2. According to the French and civil law, in virtue of the contract, the letter of a thing to hire impliedly engages that the hirer shall have the full use and enjoyment of the thing hired, and that he will fulfill his own engagements and trusts in respect to it, according to the original intention of the parties. This implies an obligation to deliver the thing to the hirer; to refrain from every obstruction to the use of it by the hirer during the period of the bailment; to do no act which shall deprive the hirer of the thing; to warrant the title and possession to the hirer, to enable him to use the thing or to perform the service; to keep the thing in suitable order and repair for the purpose of the bailment; and finally to warrant the thing from from any fault inconsistent with the use of it. These are the main obligations deduced from the nature of the contract, and they seem generally founded on unexceptionable reasoning. Pothier, Louage, n. 53; Id. n. 217; Domat, B. 1, tit. 4, Sec. 3 Code Civ. of L. tit. 9, c. 2, s. 2. It is difficult to say how far (reasonable as they are in a general sense) these obligations are recognized in the common law. In some respects the common law certainly differs. See Repairs; Dougl. 744, 748; 1 Saund. 321, 32e, and ibid. note 7; 4 T. R. 318; 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 980 et seq.

LETTER, civil law. The answer which the prince gave to questions of law which had been submitted to him by magistrates, was called letters or epistles. See Rescripts.

letter

let·ter

letter

let•ter

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letter:

Letter

REFERENCES

What does it mean when you dream about a letter?

letter

Letter

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Letter

letter

Synonyms for letter

noun message

Synonyms

noun character

Synonyms

noun learning

Synonyms

phrase to the letter

Synonyms

Synonyms for letter

noun a written communication directed to another

Synonyms

Synonyms for letter

noun a written message addressed to a person or organization

Synonyms

Related Words

noun the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech

Synonyms

Related Words

noun owner who lets another person use something (housing usually) for hire

Related Words

noun a strictly literal interpretation (as distinct from the intention)

Related Words

noun an award earned by participation in a school sport

Synonyms

Related Words

verb win an athletic letter

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verb set down or print with letters

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verb mark letters on or mark with letters

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