# literal
## English
### Alternative forms

* litteral (obsolete)
* lit. (abbreviation)

### Etymology

From Middle English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis, also literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera, litera (“a letter”); see letter.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈlɪt(ə)ɹəl/
* Audio (UK):(file)
* (US) IPA: /ˈlɪtəɹəl/
* Homophone: littoral

### Adjective

literal (comparative more literal, superlative most literal)
* Exactly as stated; read or understood without additional interpretation; according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical, and etymonic rather than idiomatic.
    The literal translation is "hands full of bananas" but it means "empty-handed".
** 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):a middle course between the rigour of literal translations and the liberty of paraphrasts
** 1989, “Preface to the New Revised Standard Version”, in Bible Research‎:Within the constraints set by the original texts and by the mandates of the Division, the Committee has followed the maxim, 'As literal as possible, as free as necessary.' As a consequence, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) remains essentially a literal translation.
** 2017 January 12, Jesse Hassenger, “A literal monster truck is far from the stupidest thing about Monster Trucks”, in The Onion AV Club‎:Mechanically, operating this hybrid vehicle is sort of a cross between driving a car and taming an animal, which means the movie treats the audience to the sight of a man (pretending to be a teenager) driving a literal monster truck in a field next to a woman (also pretending to be a teenager) riding a horse.
* Following the letter or exact words; not free; not taking liberties
    A literal reading of the law would prohibit it, but that is clearly not the intent.
* (theology) (loosely) That which generally assumes that the plainest reading of a given scripture is correct but which allows for metaphor where context indicates it; (specifically) following the historical-grammatical method of biblical interpretation
** 1998, Kevin Vanhoozer, “6. Redeeming the Text: The Rationality of Literary Acts”, in Is There a Meaning in This Text?, page 311:It is most important to distinguish literalistic from literal interpretation. [...] ‘Literalistic’ interpretation is like word-for-word translation that yields the verbally exact or ‘formally equivalent’ versions but also runs the risk of overlooking the main (illocutionary) point. Literal interpretation, on the other hand, is more like a translation that strives for dynamic equivalence and yields the literary sense.
* (uncommon) Consisting of, or expressed by, letters (of an alphabet); using literation.
    a literal equation
* (of a person) Unimaginative; matter-of-fact
* (proscribed) Used non-literally as an intensifier; see literally for usage notes.
    Telemarketers are the literal worst.
* Misspelling of littoral.

#### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “exactly as stated”): figurative, metaphorical, nonliteral, illiteral

#### Hyponyms

* hyperliteral, overliteral

#### Derived terms

* antiliteral
* biliteral
* duoliteral
* hyperliteralism
* illiteral
* literal equation
* literalism
* literalist
* literalistic
* literalize, literalise
* literally
* literal-minded
* literalness
* literal rule
* literal theonymy
* monoliteral
* multiliteral
* pluriliteral
* quadriliteral
* quinqueliteral
* transliteral
* triliteral
* uniliteral

#### Related terms

* letter
* literacy
* literary
* literate
* literature

#### Translations
### Noun

literal (plural literals)
* (epigraphy, typography) A misprint (or occasionally a scribal error) that affects a letter.
    Synonym: typo
* (programming) A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.
    Synonym: literal constant
* (logic) A propositional variable or the negation of a propositional variable.
* Misspelling of littoral.

#### See also

* constant
* prime formula

### References

* ↑ “Archived copy”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, 2016 June 6 (last accessed), archived from the original on 25 July 2016

### Further reading

* “literal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “literal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* tallier

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [li.təˈɾal]
* IPA: (Valencia) [li.teˈɾal]

### Adjective

literal m or f (masculine and feminine plural literals)
* literal

#### Derived terms

* literalment

#### Related terms

* lletra

#### Further reading

* “literal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## Galician
### Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

### Adjective

literal m or f (plural literais)
* literal

#### Derived terms

* literalmente

#### Related terms

* letra

#### Further reading

* “literal”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

## German
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌlɪtəˈʁaːl/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -aːl

### Adjective

literal (strong nominative masculine singular literaler, comparative literaler, superlative am literalsten)
* literate (of cultures, etc., not of individuals)
    Es gibt orale und literale Kulturen.There are oral and literate cultures.

#### Declension
### See also

* schreibkundig

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis, also literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera, litera (“a letter”).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Indonesian) IPA: /litəˈral/ [li.t̪əˈral]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: li‧te‧ral

### Adjective

litêral
* Synonym of harfiah

### Further reading

* “literal” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Old French
### Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

### Adjective

literal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular literale)
* literal (exactly as stated)
* literal (relating to or composed of letters)

#### Descendants

* English: literal
* French: littéral

## Portuguese
### Alternative forms

* litteral (pre-standardization spelling)

### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin litterālis.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /li.teˈɾaw/ [li.teˈɾaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /li.tɨˈɾal/ [li.tɨˈɾaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /li.tɨˈɾal/ [li.tɨˈɾaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /li.tɨˈɾa.li/
* Rhymes: -al, -aw
* Hyphenation: li‧te‧ral

### Adjective

literal m or f (plural literais)
* literal (understood exactly as written, without additional interpretation)

#### Derived terms

* literalmente

### Noun

literal m (plural literais)
* (Can we verify this sense?) (programming) literal (value written in the source code)

### Interjection

literal!
* (colloquial, Internet slang) “literally!”; “it’s just like you say!” (used to express ecstatic agreement with something)
    Synonym: real

#### Related terms

* letra
* letrado
* literatura

#### Further reading

* “literal” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French littéral, from Latin litteralis. By surface analysis, literă +‎ -al.

### Adjective

literal m or n (feminine singular literală, masculine plural literali, feminine and neuter plural literale)
* literal

#### Declension
## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin litterālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /liteˈɾal/ [li.t̪eˈɾal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: li‧te‧ral

### Adjective

literal m or f (masculine and feminine plural literales)
* literal

### Adverb

literal
* (colloquial) literally
** 2020 December 31, @sofsweets, Twitter‎, archived from the original on 2024-07-18:buenas noches, promociono esto porque literal en segundos ya me volví orgullosa de lo que escribígood night, i'm touting this because I literally became proud of what I've written in seconds
** 2021 December 31, @Micaaaottone, Twitter‎, archived from the original on 2024-07-18:Amo peinar, lo hago con tanto amor que literal espero que algún dia, esta sea mi profesión❤I love combing, I do it with so much love that I literally hope one day this will become my occupation
** 2023 December 31, @stiIwhu, Twitter‎, archived from the original on 2024-07-18:Hermanas me puse un vestido re lindo, azul oscuro con detalles en negro y dorado literal mi mejor compra del añoSisters I donned a very pretty dress, dark blue with golden and black details literally my best purchase of the year

#### Derived terms

* literalidad
* literalmente
* traducción literal

#### Related terms

* letra

#### Further reading

* “literal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
* @RAEinforma (2020 May 6) Twitter‎ (in Spanish), archived from the original on 2024-07-18: “#RAEconsultas El uso ponderativo del adjetivo «literal» como adverbio (de forma similar al de otros adjetivos como «natural») se ha extendido en la lengua de hoy, pero pertenece al nivel coloquial. Es preferible el uso en estos casos de «literalmente».”

## Tagalog
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish literal.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /liteˈɾal/ [lɪ.t̪ɛˈɾal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: li‧te‧ral

### Adjective

literál (Baybayin spelling ᜎᜒᜆᜒᜇᜎ᜔)
* literal (exactly as stated)

#### Derived terms

* literalin

#### Related terms

* literaryo
* literatura