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Lettering

letter

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3 dictionary results for: Letters

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

let·ter1

[let-er] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail.

2.	a symbol or character that is conventionally used in writing and printing to represent a speech sound and that is part of an alphabet.

3.	a piece of printing type bearing such a symbol or character.

4.	a particular style of type.

5.	such types collectively.

6.	Often, letters. a formal document granting a right or privilege.

7.	actual terms or wording; literal meaning, as distinct from implied meaning or intent (opposed to spirit): the letter of the law.

letters, (used with a singular or plural verb

)

a.	literature in general.

b.	the profession of literature.

c.	learning; knowledge, esp. of literature.

9.	an emblem consisting of the initial or monogram of a school, awarded to a student for extracurricular activity, esp. in athletics.

–verb (used with object)

10.	to mark or write with letters; inscribe.

–verb (used without object)

11.	to earn a letter in an interscholastic or intercollegiate activity, esp. a sport: He lettered in track at Harvard.

—Idiom

12.	to the letter, to the last particular; precisely: His orders were carried out to the letter.

[Origin: 1175–1225; ME, var. of lettre < OF < L littera alphabetic character, in pl., epistle, literature

]

—Related forms

let·ter·er, noun

let·ter·less, adjective

—Synonyms 8. See literature.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

let·ter (lět'ər) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A written symbol or character representing a speech sound and being a component of an alphabet.
2. A written symbol or character used in the graphemic representation of a word, such as the h in Thames. See Note at Thames.
3. Literary culture; belles-lettres.
4. Learning or knowledge, especially of literature.
5. Literature or writing as a profession.
6. A piece of type that prints a single character.
7. A specific style of type.
8. The characters in one style of type.
A written or printed communication directed to a person or organization.
A certified document granting rights to its bearer. Often used in the plural.
Literal meaning: had to adhere to the letter of the law.
letters (used with a sing. verb)
1. Literary culture; belles-lettres.
2. Learning or knowledge, especially of literature.
3. Literature or writing as a profession.
4. A piece of type that prints a single character.
5. A specific style of type.
6. The characters in one style of type.
Printing
1. A piece of type that prints a single character.
2. A specific style of type.
3. The characters in one style of type.
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.

To write letters on.
To write in letters.

v. intr.

To write or form letters.
To earn a school letter, as for outstanding athletic achievement: She lettered in three collegiate sports.

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

let'ter·er n.

Synonyms: These nouns denote a written communication directed to another: received a letter of complaint; the Epistles of the New Testament; a missive of condolence; a thank-you note.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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