lit ‧ e ‧ ra ‧ ti /ˌlɪtəˈrɑːti/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ literature , ↑ literacy ≠ ↑ illiteracy , ↑ illiterate , ↑ literati ; adjective : ↑ literary , ↑ literate ≠ ↑ illiterate ]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: Early Italian litterati , from Latin litteratus ; ⇨ ↑ literate ]
the literati formal a small group of people in a society who know a lot about literature