LITERAL

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin litteralis, from Latin, of a letter, from littera letter Date: 14th century 1. according with the letter of the scriptures, adhering to fact or to the ordinary construction or primary meaning of a term or expression ; actual , free from exaggeration or embellishment , characterized by a concern mainly with facts , of, relating to, or expressed in letters, reproduced word for word ; exact , verbatim , ~ity noun ~ness noun II. noun Date: 1622 a small error usually of a single letter (as in writing)