Meaning of literature in English

Table of contents

Noun
literature
Etymology
late Middle English (in the sense ‘knowledge of books’): via French from Latin litteratura, from littera (see letter)
Definitions
1. creative writing of recognized artistic value
2. the humanistic study of a body of literature
Examples
- « he took a course in Russian lit »
3. published writings in a particular style on a particular subject
Examples
- « the technical literature »
- « one aspect of Waterloo has not yet been treated in the literature »
4. the profession or art of a writer
Examples
- « her place in literature is secure »

Famous quotes

« The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing second, the gratification of one's family and friends and lastly, the solid cash. »
Nathaniel Hawthorne
« All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool. »
Steven Brust
« Few are there that will leave the secure seclusion of the scholar's life, the peaceful walks of literature and learning, to stand out a target for the criticism of unkind and hostile minds. »
Felix Adler
« The web, then, or the pattern, a web at once sensuous and logical, an elegant and pregnant texture: that is style, that is the foundation of the art of literature. »
Robert Louis Stevenson
« Poetry, it is often said and loudly so, is life's true mirror. But a monkey looking into a work of literature looks in vain for Socrates. »
Franz Grillparzer