Latin Love, Vol III: littera

To take something literally is to take it at face value, with the words meaning exactly what the dictionary says they mean. When we say that someone is "sitting on the report," we probably mean that they have the report, but are stalling its release. To be literally "sitting on the report" would mean to be, well, literally, sitting on the report.

All writing is, by definition, written down in letters. But "literary" writing has that special artistry and flair that we associate with stories, great speeches, and poetry. Literary language not only conveys a message, but does so using language that is carefully crafted and beautiful to the ear.

Literally, the word "literature" refers to the written word in general. However, the word "literature" is used to refer to specialized writings. Stories, great speeches, drama (in its written form), and poetry are referred to as "literature." In specialized fields, such as medicine, research reports are referred to as "the literature." And musical scores are referred to by musicians as "literature."

Although we use the word "obliterate" as a synonym for "eradicate" or "destroy," its literal meaning has to do with erasure or destruction of the written word. However, when hear that a building was obliterated, you may assume that the entire building, not just the writings in it, is gone, having been destroyed.

When words go together through alliteration, they create catchy and memorable messages, which is why alliteration is used lavishly in advertising. The slogan of Ford Motor Company, "The Best-Built, Best-Backed American Made Car" is a perfect example.

Literacy, the noun form of "literate," originally referred to competency in reading and writing, but the word has been expanded to refer to competency in other fields as well, extending to "computer literacy," "economic literacy," and "mathematical literacy," a term that has morphed in to something called "numeracy," which is to arithmetic what literacy is to written words.

Studies have shown time and again that when women are not given a chance to be educated, that is, when women are kept illiterate, poverty and injustice flourish. Widespread illiteracy of women, because of the lack of educational opportunities for them, is thought to be the chief reason for a society's continued lack of progress and overall misery in the modern world. (Nicholas Kristof is the leading proponent of this theory, as he writes in his book "Half the Sky." Check it out.)

Most of the other words in this list have a direct relationship to reading and writing. The word "litigation" has an indirect relationship, but you can understand how legal disputes, because they must be settled permanently--that is, in writing--are connected to the written word.

A litigious person does a lot of writing--of court documents, that is. Litigious people take their disputes to court frequently, thus accumulating plenty of reading material.

Now, here is a fancy word that fancy people have approriated for themselves. The "literati" are (the word is plural) the literary elite, those who discuss great writing in great ways, using great words, presumably.

Although this word often refers to having earned an insignia for distinguished performance in a school sport ("She lettered in three sports."), it also refers to being educated in bookish matters. Like the word "learned" (two syllables), "lettered" has an archaic and somewhat snooty feel to it today.

Today, we would refer to a person having little acquaintance with writing as "functionally illiterate" rather than "unlettered," but you'll encounter this word in older texts, particularly in pre-20th Century text, from a time when only the elite were educated and had leisure time for reading.