adj. 1 of, constituting, or occupied with books or literature or written composition, esp. of the kind valued for quality of form. 2 well informed about literature. 3 (of a word or idiom) used chiefly in literary works or other formal writing. literary executor see EXECUTOR. literary history the history of the treatment of a subject in literature. literarily adv. literariness n.
[ L litterarius (as LETTER) ]