1. littĕra — Lewis & Short
littĕra (less correctly lītĕra), ae, f.lino, q. v.,
I a letter, a written sign or mark signifying a sound.
I Lit.:
cubitum hercle longis litteris signabo jam usquequaque, si quis, etc.,Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 7:
quid hae locuntur litterae?id. Bacch. 4, 7, 3; cf.: quid istae narrant? Tox. Perconctare ex ipsis;
ipsae tibi narrabunt,id. Pers. 4, 3, 29:
sus rostro si humi A litteram impresserit,Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23:
priscarum litterarum notae,id. ib. 2, 41, 85:
maximis litteris incisum,Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 63, § 154 fin.:
lenis appellatio litterarum,id. Brut. 74, 159:
suavis appellatio litterarum,Quint. 11, 3, 35:
quae si nostris litteris scribantur,id. 12, 10, 28 litterarum ordine, in alphabetical order, Plin. 37, 9, 54, § 138:
verba primis litteris notare, Prob. de Not. Signif. 1 Huschke: digerere in litteram,to arrange alphabetically, Sen. Ep. 68, 18: scire litteras, to be able to read and write, Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 23; Vitr. 1, 1, 14:
nescire litteras,not to be able to read and write, id. Clem. 2, 1, 2; Suet. Ner. 10:
scribere aureis litteris,Gai. Inst. 2, 77:
scientia litterarum,the art of writing, Dig. 29, 2, 93:
facere litteram or litteras,to write, Plaut. As. 4, 1, 22; Cic. Ac. 2, 2, 6.—In the language of comedy:
homo trium litterarum, i. e. fur,a thief, Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 46: litteram ex se longam facere, i. e. to make an I by hanging perpendicularly, to hang one's self:
neque quicquam meliust mihi, ut opinor, quam ex me ut faciam litteram longam, meum laqueo collum quando obstrinxero,id. ib. 1, 1, 37:
littera salutaris, i. e. A. (absolvo) and tristis, i. e. C. (condemno), which were put on the voting-tablets,Cic. Mil. 6, 15.—
II Transf.
A Sing.
1 A word, a line:
ad me litteram numquam misit,Cic. Fam. 2, 17, 6: ad litteram, word for word, literally:
locum ad litteram subjeci,Quint. 9, 1, 15.—
2 A handwriting:
Alexidis manum amabam, quod tam prope accedebat ad similitudinem tuae litterae,Cic. Att. 7, 2, 3; cf.:
arguit ipsorum quos littera,Juv. 13, 138 (v. also infra B. 1. fin.).—
B Usually plur.
1 Littĕrae, ārum, f., a letter, epistle: litteras resignare, to unseal or open a letter, Plaut. Trin. 3, 3, 65:
ut litterarum ego harum sermonem audio,id. Ps. 1, 1, 97; Cic. Att. 1, 13, 1:
dare alicui litteras ad aliquem,id. Cat. 3, 4, 9:
litteras mittere,id. Att. 5, 21, 2:
reddere alicui,id. ib. 5, 21, 4:
accipere,id. ib. 5, 21, 7:
remittere,id. ib. 11, 16, 4:
nullas iis praeterquam ad te et ad Brutum dedi litteras,id. Fam. 3, 7, 1:
queri apud aliquem per litteras,id. Att. 5, 21, 13: invitare aliquem perlitteras id. ib. 13, 2, 2:
civitatum animos litteris temptare,Caes. B. C. 1, 40, 1: litterae missae, a letter sent by a person: litterae allatae, a letter received: hence, liber litterarum missarum et allatarum, a letter-book:
L. M. (i. e. litterae missae) ... L. A. (i. e. litterae allatae), etc.,Cic. Font. 4, 8; Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 71, § 167.—In poets also sometimes in sing.:
quam legis a rapta Briseide littera venit,Ov. H. 3, 1; 5, 2; id. M. 9, 515; Tib. 3, 2, 27; Mart. 10, 73 al.—
2 A writing, document, paper:
litterae publicae,Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 63, § 140; 2, 4, 16, § 35; esp. a written acknowledgment:
littera poscetur,Ov. A. A. 1, 428.—
3 An account-book:
ratio omnis et litterae,Cic. Quint. 11, 37; Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 12, § 27.—
4 An edict, ordinance:
praetoris litterae,Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 22, § 56:
litteras revocavit,letter of appointment, commission, Suet. Vesp. 8. —
5 Written monuments, records, literature:
abest historia litteris nostris,is wanting in our literature, Cic. Leg. 1, 2, 5:
Graecae de philosophia litterae,philosophical literature, id. Div. 2, 2, 5:
genus hoc scriptionis nondum satis Latinis litteris illustratae,id. Brut. 64, 228; id. Tusc. 1, 1, 1; id. Fin. 1, 2, 4:
Graecis litteris studere,id. Brut. 20, 78:
damnum Hortensii interitu Latinae litterae fecerunt,id. ib. 33, 125:
nullam artem litteris sine interprete et sine aliqua exercitatione percipi posse,merely from books, id. Fam. 7, 19:
quod litteris exstet, Pherecydes primum dixit animos hominum esse sempiternos,id. Tusc. 1, 16, 38:
parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,Liv. 6, 1, 2; 7, 3, 6:
Etruscae,id. 9, 36, 3:
paucissimos adhuc eloquentes litterae Romanae tulerunt,Quint. 10, 1, 123: amor litterarum, id. prooem. 6.—
6 History, inasmuch as it is derived from written monuments:
cupidissimus litterarum fuit,Nep. Cat. 3, 1; id. Pelop. 1:
parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,Liv. 6, 1.—
7 Literary labor, composition:
omnis varietas litterarum mearum,Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 12:
non nihil temporis tribuit litteris,Nep. Hann. 13, 2.—
8 An inscription, Ov. M. 11, 706.—
9 Learning, the sciences, liberal education, scholarship, letters:
sit mihi orator tinctus litteris: audierit aliquid, legerit,Cic. de Or. 2, 20, 85:
erant in eo plurimae litterae,id. Brut. 76, 265:
homo communium litterarum, et politioris humanitatis non expers,id. de Or. 2, 7, 28:
homo sine ingenio, sine litteris,Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 44, § 98:
fuit in illo ingenium, ratio, memoria, litterae, cura, cogitatio, diligentia,id. Phil. 2, 45, 116:
mihi nihil libri, nihil litterae, nihil doctrina prodest,id. Att. 9, 10, 2:
litterarum scientia,id. Brut. 42, 153:
litterarum coguitio,id. de Or. 3, 32, 127: nescire litteras, to be without a liberal education, id. Brut. 74, 259:
altiores litterae,magic, Plin. 14, 4, 5, § 51.—Comically of the art of love: Litteras didicisti;
quando scis, sine alios discere,Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 22.