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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. —
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.—
8. An inscription, Ov. M. 11, 706.—
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hide References (58 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (58):
    • Cicero, Letters to his Friends, 15.4.12
    • Cicero, Letters to his Friends, 2.17.6
    • Cicero, Letters to his Friends, 3.7.1
    • Cicero, Letters to his Friends, 7.19
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 1.13.1
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 5.21.13
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 5.21.2
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 7.2.3
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 9.10.2
    • Cicero, Philippics, 2.45.116
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.3.167
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.4.140
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.5.56
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.2.154
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.4.27
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.4.98
    • Cicero, Against Catiline, 3.4.9
    • Cicero, For Marcus Fonteius, 4.8
    • Cicero, For Milo, 6.15
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 9, 36
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 11.706
    • Plautus, Aulularia, 2.4
    • Plautus, Pseudolus, 1.1
    • Plautus, Rudens, 5.2
    • Vitruvius, On Architecture, 1.1.14
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 9.515
    • Caesar, Civil War, 1.40.1
    • Plautus, Asinaria, 4.1
    • Plautus, Bacchides, 4.7
    • Plautus, Persa, 4.3
    • Plautus, Trinummus, 3.3
    • Plautus, Trinummus, 4.2
    • Cicero, On Oratory, 2.20
    • Cicero, On Oratory, 2.7
    • Cicero, On Oratory, 3.32
    • Suetonius, Nero, 10
    • Suetonius, Divus Vespasianus, 8
    • Cornelius Nepos, Cato, 3.1
    • Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal, 13.2
    • Cornelius Nepos, Pelopidas, 1
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 14.51
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 6, 1.2
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 6, 1
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 7, 3
    • Seneca, de Clementia, 2.1.2
    • Cicero, De Legibus, 1.2
    • Cicero, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, 1.2
    • Cicero, De Divinatione, 1.13
    • Cicero, De Divinatione, 2.2
    • Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, 1.1
    • Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, 1.16
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 9, 1.15
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 10, 1.123
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 11, 3.35
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 12, 10.28
    • Martial, Epigrammata, 10.73
    • Cicero, Brutus, 20.78
    • Cicero, Brutus, 74.259
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