literary
adjective /ˈlɪtərəri/
/ˈlɪtəreri/
- [only before noun] connected with literature
- literary criticism/theory
- [usually before noun] (of a language or style of writing) suitable for or typical of a work of literature
- It was Chaucer who really turned English into a literary language.
- She was one of the great literary figures of her age.
- [usually before noun] liking literature very much; studying or writing literature
- a literary man
Word Originmid 17th cent. (in the sense ‘relating to the letters of the alphabet’): from Latin litterarius, from littera ‘letter of the alphabet’, (plural) ‘epistle, literature, culture’.