letter definition | Dictionary.com

let⋅ter

1 [let-er]

–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.

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let⋅ter

2 [let-er]

–noun Chiefly British.

a person who lets, esp. one who rents out property.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME letere; see let ¹ , -er ¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To letter

let·ter (lět'ər)

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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Letter

Let"ter\ (l[e^]t"t[~e]r), n. [From Let to permit.] One who lets or permits; one who lets anything for hire.

Letter

Let"ter\, n. [From Let to hinder.] One who retards or hinders. [Archaic.]

Letter

Let"ter\, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the characters upon tablets smeared over or covered with wax. --Pliny, xiii. 11. See Liniment, and cf. Literal.]

1. A mark or character used as the representative of a sound, or of an articulation of the human organs of speech; a first element of written language.

And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. --Luke xxiii. 38.

2. A written or printed communication; a message expressed in intelligible characters on something adapted to conveyance, as paper, parchment, etc.; an epistle.

The style of letters ought to be free, easy, and natural. --Walsh.

3. A writing; an inscription. [Obs.]

None could expound what this letter meant. --Chaucer.

4. Verbal expression; literal statement or meaning; exact signification or requirement.

We must observe the letter of the law, without doing violence to the reason of the law and the intention of the lawgiver. --Jer. Taylor.

I broke the letter of it to keep the sense. --Tennyson.

5. (Print.) A single type; type, collectively; a style of type.

Under these buildings . . . was the king's printing house, and that famous letter so much esteemed. --Evelyn.

6. pl. Learning; erudition; as, a man of letters.

7. pl. A letter; an epistle. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Dead letter, Drop letter, etc. See under Dead, Drop, etc.

Letter book, a book in which copies of letters are kept.

Letter box, a box for the reception of letters to be mailed or delivered.

Letter carrier, a person who carries letters; a postman; specif., an officer of the post office who carries letters to the persons to whom they are addressed, and collects letters to be mailed.

Letter cutter, one who engraves letters or letter punches.

Letter lock, a lock that can not be opened when fastened, unless certain movable lettered rings or disks forming a part of it are in such a position (indicated by a particular combination of the letters) as to permit the bolt to be withdrawn.

A strange lock that opens with AMEN. --Beau. & Fl.

Letter paper, paper for writing letters on; especially, a size of paper intermediate between note paper and foolscap. See Paper.

Letter punch, a steel punch with a letter engraved on the end, used in making the matrices for type.

Letters of administration (Law), the instrument by which an administrator or administratrix is authorized to administer the goods and estate of a deceased person.

Letter of attorney, Letter of credit, etc. See under Attorney, Credit, etc.

Letter of license, a paper by which creditors extend a debtor's time for paying his debts.

Letters close or clause (Eng. Law.), letters or writs directed to particular persons for particular purposes, and hence closed or sealed on the outside; -- distinguished from letters patent. --Burrill.

Letters of orders (Eccl.), a document duly signed and sealed, by which a bishop makes it known that he has regularly ordained a certain person as priest, deacon, etc.

Letters patent, overt, or open (Eng. Law), a writing executed and sealed, by which power and authority are granted to a person to do some act, or enjoy some right; as, letters patent under the seal of England.

Letter-sheet envelope, a stamped sheet of letter paper issued by the government, prepared to be folded and sealed for transmission by mail without an envelope.

Letters testamentary (Law), an instrument granted by the proper officer to an executor after probate of a will, authorizing him to act as executor.

Letter writer. (a) One who writes letters. (b) A machine for copying letters. (c) A book giving directions and forms for the writing of letters.

Letter

Let"ter\ (l[e^]t"t[~e]r), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lettered (-t[~e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lettering.] To impress with letters; to mark with letters or words; as, a book gilt and lettered.

Letter

Let"ter\, n. (Teleg.) A telegram longer than an ordinary message sent at rates lower than the standard message rate in consideration of its being sent and delivered subject to priority in service of regular messages. Such telegrams are called by the Western Union Company day, or night, letters according to the time of sending, and by The Postal Telegraph Company day, or night, lettergrams.

Language Translation for : letter

Spanish: letra,

German: der Buchstabe,

Japanese: 文字

More Translations »

letter

c.1150, "graphic symbol, written character," from O.Fr. lettre, from L. littera "letter of the alphabet," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Gk. diphthera "tablet," with change of d- to l- as in lachrymose. The pl. litteræ in L. meant "epistle, written documents, literature," a sense first attested c.1225 in M.E., replacing O.E. ærendgewrit, lit. "errand-writing." School letter in sports, first awarded by U. of Chicago football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg.

Main Entry: let·ter
Function: noun
1 : a direct written statement addressed to an individual or organization; broadly : an official communication —see also COUNTERLETTER

determination letter
: a letter from an administrative agency (as the Internal Revenue Service) usually in response to a request in which a determination, decision, or ruling (as whether an organization qualifies as charitable) is made

information letter
: a letter from an administrative agency usually in response to a request that provides information and esp. that simply calls attention to an interpretation or principle of law

letter of intent
: a letter in which the intention to enter into a formal agreement (as a contract) or to take some specified action is stated

letter ro·ga·to·ry
/-'rO-g&-"tor-E/
Etymology: probably partial translation of Medieval Latin littera rogatoria letter of request
: a formal written request by a court to a court in a foreign jurisdiction to summon and examine a witness in accordance with that jurisdiction's procedures (as oral interrogatories) —usually used in pl.

90–day letter
: a letter from the Internal Revenue Service notifying a taxpayer of a determination of a deficiency
NOTE: A taxpayer has 90 days from the date of the mailing of the 90-day letter to petition for a redetermination of the deficiency in the U.S. Tax Court.

no–action letter
: a letter from an attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission recommending that the Commission take no prosecutorial action with regard to a suspected and investigated violation of SEC rules or regulations

opinion letter
: a letter in which an opinion (as of a court or attorney) is given

ruling letter
: DETERMINATION LETTER in this entry

30–day letter
: a letter from the Internal Revenue Service to a taxpayer who has been audited and disputes the auditor's determination that sets out the taxpayer's right to appeal
NOTE: A taxpayer has 30 days from the time of the mailing of the 30-day letter to respond.
2 : a written communication usually from a court containing a grant (as of a right) or an appointment —usually used in pl. <letters of guardianship>

letter of attorney
: POWER OF ATTORNEY

letter of marque
/-'märk/
Etymology: Anglo-French mark, marque right of retaliation, from Middle French marque, from Old Provençal marca, from marcar to mark, seize as pledge
: a letter from a government formerly used to grant a private person the power to seize the subjects of a foreign state; specifically : authority granted to a private person to fit out an armed ship to plunder the enemy —usually used in pl. —often used in the phrase letters of marque and reprisal letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water —U.S. Constitution article I>

letters of administration
: a letter from a probate court that appoints the addressee administrator of an estate

letters patent
: a letter (as from a government) that grants a designated person a right (as to property) and that is in a form open for public inspection : PATENT

letters testamentary
: a letter from a probate court that appoints or confirms the addressee as executor of an estate
3 : LETTER OF CREDIT

Letter

in Rom. 2:27, 29 means the outward form. The "oldness of the letter" (7:6) is a phrase which denotes the old way of literal outward obedience to the law as a system of mere external rules of conduct. In 2 Cor. 3:6, "the letter" means the Mosaic law as a written law. (See WRITING.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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letter

In addition to the idiom beginning with letter, also see bread and butter letter; crank call (letter); dead letter; four-letter word; poison-pen letter; red-letter day; to the letter.

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