Letter

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: let=ter

CIDE DICTIONARY

Letter, n. [From Let to permit.].

 One who lets or permits; one who lets anything for hire.  [1913 Webster]

Letter, n. [From Let to hinder.].

 One who retards or hinders.  [1913 Webster]

Letter, 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.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew."  [1913 Webster]
•  A written or printed communication; a message expressed in intelligible characters on something adapted to conveyance, as paper, parchment, etc.; an epistle.  [1913 Webster]

  "The style of letters ought to be free, easy, and natural."  [1913 Webster]
•  A writing; an inscription.  [1913 Webster]

  "None could expound what this letter meant."  [1913 Webster]
•  Verbal expression; literal statement or meaning; exact signification or requirement.  [1913 Webster]

  "We must observe the letter of the law, without doing violence to the reason of the law and the intention of the lawgiver."  [1913 Webster]

  "I broke the letter of it to keep the sense."  [1913 Webster]
•  A single type; type, collectively; a style of type.  [1913 Webster]

  "Under these buildings . . . was the king's printing house, and that famous letter so much esteemed."  [1913 Webster]
•  Learning; erudition; as, a man of letters.  [1913 Webster]
•  A letter; an epistle.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]
•  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 letters, or night letters according to the time of sending, and by The Postal Telegraph Company day lettergrams, or night lettergrams.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

  "A strange lock that opens with AMEN."

Letter, v. t. 

 To impress with letters; to mark with letters or words; as, a book gilt and lettered.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Letter, n. & v.
--n.
1 a a character representing one or more of the simple or compound sounds used in speech, any of the alphabetic symbols. b (in pl.) colloq. the initials of a degree etc. after the holder's name. c US a school or college initial as a mark of proficiency in games etc.
2 a a written, typed, or printed communication, usu. sent by post or messenger. b (in pl.) an addressed legal or formal document for any of various purposes.
3 the precise terms of a statement, the strict verbal interpretation (opp. SPIRIT n. 6) (according to the letter of the law).
4 (in pl.) a literature. b acquaintance with books, erudition. c authorship (the profession of letters).
5 Printing a types collectively. b a fount of type.
--v.tr.
1 a inscribe letters on. b impress a title etc. on (a book-cover).
2 classify with letters.

Idiom

letter-bomb a terrorist explosive device in the form of a postal packet. letter-box esp. Brit. a box or slot into which letters are posted or delivered. letter-card a folded card with a gummed edge for posting as a letter. letter-heading = LETTERHEAD. letter of comfort an assurance about a debt, short of a legal guarantee, given to a bank by a third party. letter of credence see CREDENCE. letter of credit see CREDIT. letter-perfect Theatr. knowing one's part perfectly. letter-quality of the quality of printing suitable for a business letter; producing print of this quality. letters missive see MISSIVE. letters of administration authority to administer the estate of an intestate. letters of marque see MARQUE(2). letters patent see PATENT. letter-writer
1 a person who writes letters.
2 a book giving guidance on writing letters. man of letters a scholar or author. to the letter with adherence to every detail.

Derivative

letterer n. letterless adj.

Etymology

ME f. OF lettre f. L litera, littera letter of alphabet, (in pl.) epistle, literature

THESAURUS

Letter

PP, RD, RFD, accurately, acknowledgment, advice, airmail, alphabet, alphabetize, answer, art, article, ascender, autograph, back, bastard type, beard, belles-lettres, belly, bevel, billet, black letter, blueprint, body, book post, brainchild, business letter, cap, capital, capitalize, case, character, charactering, characterization, chart, chit, choreography, communication, communique, composition, computer printout, conventional representation, copy, correspondence, counter, culture, dance notation, delineation, demonstration, depiction, depictment, descender, diagram, direct mail, direct-mail selling, dispatch, document, draft, drama, drawing, edited version, em, embassy, en, engrossment, epistle, erudition, essay, exactly, exemplification, express, face, fair copy, fat-faced type, favor, feet, fiction, figuration, final draft, finished version, first draft, flimsy, font, fourth-class mail, frank, groove, halfpenny post, hieroglyphic, holograph, iconography, ideogram, illustration, imagery, imaging, initial, inscribe, italic, junk mail, learning, letter post, letters, ligature, limning, line, literae scriptae, literally, literary artefact, literary production, literatim, literature, logogram, logograph, logotype, lower case, lucubration, mail, mail-order selling, mailing list, majuscule, manuscript, map, mark, matter, memorandum, message, minuscule, missive, musical notation, newspaper post, nick, nonfiction, notation, note, opus, original, paper, parcel post, parchment, penscript, pi, pica, pictogram, picturization, piece, piece of writing, plan, play, pneumatogram, poem, point, portraiture, portrayal, post, post day, precisely, prefigurement, presentment, print, printed matter, printing, printout, production, projection, reading matter, realization, recension, registered mail, release, rendering, rendition, reply, report, representation, rescript, roman, rural delivery, rural free delivery, sans serif, schema, scholarship, score, screed, scrip, script, scrive, scroll, sea mail, seapost, second draft, shank, shoulder, sic, sign, small cap, small capital, special delivery, special handling, spell out, stamp, stem, strictly, surface mail, syllabary, symbol, tablature, telegram, the written word, thus, to the letter, transcribe, transcript, transcription, transliterate, type, type body, type class, type lice, typecase, typeface, typefounders, typefoundry, typescript, upper case, verbatim, version, word, word for word, work, write, writing

ROGET THESAURUS

Letter

Letter

N letter, character, hieroglyphic, type, capitals, digraph, trigraph, ideogram, ideograph, majuscule, minuscule, majuscule, minuscule, alphabet, ABC, abecedary, christcross-row, consonant, vowel, diphthong, triphthong, mute, liquid, labial, dental, guttural, syllable, monosyllable, dissyllable, polysyllable, affix, suffix, spelling, orthograph, phonography, phonetic spelling, anagrammatism, metagrammatism, cipher, monogram, anagram, doubleacrostic, literal, alphabetical, abecedarian, syllabic, majuscular, minuscular, uncial.

Writing

N writing, chirography, stelography, cerography, penmanship, craftmanship, quill driving, typewriting, writing, manuscript, MS, literae scriptae, these presents, stroke of the pen, dash of the pen, coupe de plume, line, headline, pen and ink, letter, uncial writing, cuneiform character, arrowhead, Ogham, Runes, hieroglyphic, contraction, Brahmi, Devanagari, Nagari, script, shorthand, stenography, brachygraphy, tachygraphy, secret writing, writing in cipher, cryptography, stenography, phonography, pasigraphy, Polygraphy, logography, copy, transcript, rescript, rough copy, fair copy, handwriting, signature, sign manual, autograph, monograph, holograph, hand, fist, calligraphy, good hand, running hand, flowing hand, cursive hand, legible hand, bold hand, cacography, griffonage, barbouillage, bad hand, cramped hand, crabbed hand, illegible hand, scribble, pattes de mouche, ill-formed letters, pothooks and hangers, stationery, pen, quill, goose quill, pencil, style, paper, foolscap, parchment, vellum, papyrus, tablet, slate, marble, pillar, table, blackboard, ink bottle, ink horn, ink pot, ink stand, ink well, typewriter, transcription, inscription, superscription, graphology, composition, authorship, cacoethes scribendi, graphoidea, graphomania, phrenoia, writer, scribe, amanuensis, scrivener, secretary, clerk, penman, copyist, transcriber, quill driver, stenographer, typewriter, typist, writer for the press, writing, written, in writing, in black and white, under one's hand, uncial, Runic, cuneiform, hieroglyphical, currente calamo, pen in hand, audacter et sincere, le style est l'homme meme, nature's noblest gift - my gray goose quill, scribendi recte sapere et principium et fons, that mighty instrument of little men, the pen became a clarion.

Correspondence

N correspondence, letter, epistle, note, billet, post card, missive, circular, favor, billet-doux, chit, chitty, letter card, picture post card, postal, card, despatch, dispatch, bulletin, these presents, rescript, rescription, post, epistolary, furor scribendi.

Indication

N indication, symbolism, symbolization, semiology, semiotics, semeiology, semeiotics, Zeitgeist, characteristic, diagnostic, lineament, feature, trait, fingerprint, voiceprint, footprint, noseprint, cloven hoof, footfall, recognition (memory), diagnostic, divining rod, detector, sign, symbol, index, indice, indicator, point, pointer, exponent, note, token, symptom, dollar sign, dollar mark, type, figure, emblem, cipher, device, representation, epigraph, motto, posy, gesture, gesticulation, pantomime, wink, glance, leer, nod, shrug, beck, touch, nudge, dactylology, dactylonomy, freemasonry, telegraphy, chirology, byplay, dumb show, cue, hint, clue, clew, key, scent, signal, signal post, rocket, blue light, watch fire, watch tower, telegraph, semaphore, flagstaff, cresset, fiery cross, calumet, heliograph, guidon, headlight, mark, scratch, line, stroke, dash, score, stripe, streak, tick, dot, point, notch, nick, print, imprint, impress, impression, keyboard symbols, printing symbols, red letter, italics, sublineation, underlining, bold font, jotting, note, annotation, reference, blaze, cedilla, guillemets, hachure, quotation marks, ", double quotes, " ", parentheses, "( )", brackets, "", braces, "", left arrow, "<", right arrow, ">", forward slash, "/", backward slash, "\", exclamation point, "!", commercial at, "@", pound sign, "#", percent sign, "%", carat, "", ampersand, "&", asterisk, "*", hyphen, "-", dash, "-", "_", em dash, "--", plus sign, "+", equals sign, "=", question mark, "?", period, ", ", semicolon, ", ", colon, ":", comma, ", ", apostrophe, "'", single quote, "'", tilde, "~", badge, criterion, countercheck, countermark, countersign, counterfoil, duplicate, tally, label, ticket, billet, letter, counter, check, chip, chop, dib, totem, tessera, card, bill, witness, voucher, stamp, cacher, trade mark, Hall mark, signature, mark, autograph, autography, attestation, hand, hand writing, sign manual, cipher, seal, sigil, signet, hand and seal, paraph, brand, superscription, indorsement, endorsement, password, watchword, catchword, security card, pass, passkey, credentials, open sesame, timbrology, mot de passe, mot du guet, pass-parole, shibboleth, title, heading, docket, address card, visiting card, carte de visite, insignia, banner, banneret, bannerol, bandrol, flag, colors, streamer, standard, eagle, labarum, oriflamb, oriflamme, figurehead, ensign, pennon, pennant, pendant, burgee, blue Peter, jack, ancient, gonfalon, union jack, banderole, old glory, quarantine flag, vexillum, yellow-flag, yellow jack, tricolor, stars and stripes, bunting, heraldry, crest, coat of arms, arms, armorial bearings, hatchment, escutcheon, scutcheon, shield, supporters, livery, uniform, cockade, epaulet, chevron, garland, love knot, favor, beacon, cairn, post, staff, flagstaff, hand, pointer, vane, cock, weathercock, guidepost, handpost, fingerpost, directing post, signpost, pillars of Hercules, pharos, bale-fire, beacon-fire, l'etoile du Nord, landmark, seamark, lighthouse, balize, polestar, loadstar, lodestar, cynosure, guide, address, direction, name, sign, signboard, warning, omen, prefigurement, trace, record, warning &c, alarm, scepter, trophy, gauge, milestone, milepost, brand, fool's cap, check, telltale, test, mileage ticket, milliary, notification, advertisement, word of command, call, bugle call, trumpet call, bell, alarum, cry, battle cry, rallying cry, angelus, reveille, sacring bell, sanctus bell, exposition &c (explanation), proof, pattern, indicating, indicative, indicatory, denotative, connotative, diacritical, representative, typical, symbolic, pantomimic, pathognomonic, symptomatic, characteristic, demonstrative, diagnostic, exponential, emblematic, armorial, individual, known by, recognizable by, indicated, pointed, marked, denotable, indelible, in token of, symbolically, in dumb show, ecce signum, ex ungue leonem, ex pede Herculem, vide ut supra, vultus ariete fortior.