Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

literal

lit.er.al \'lit-*-r*l, 'li-tr*l\ \'lit-*r-(*-)le-, 'li-tr*-le-\ 
   \'lit-*-r*l-n*s, 'li-tr*l-\ aj [ME, fr. MF, fr. ML litteralis, fr. L, of a 
   letter, fr. littera let]ter 1a: according with the letter of the scriptures 
    1b: adhering to fact or to the ordinary construction or primary meaning of 
    a term or expression 1c: PLAIN, UNADORNED  1d: characterized by a concern 
   mainly with facts : PROSAIC  2: of, relating to, or expressed in letters  
   3: reproduced word for word : EXACT, VERBATIM  - lit.er.al.ly av