# letter

Pronunciation: US say "LET-ur" /ˈlɛtɚ/; UK say "LET-uh" /ˈlɛtə/

## Noun

1. A written or printed message sent to someone, usually longer than a note and composed with more formality.
   - Simple: A written message you send to someone, usually longer and more formal than a note.
   - _He sent a formal letter of complaint to the airline._
   - _Their correspondence filled a box with letters spanning forty years._
2. A written character that belongs to an alphabet.
   - Simple: A single sign in an alphabet, like A, B, or C.
   - _The Greek alphabet has a letter for each vowel sound._
   - _Children learn to recognize letters before they can read whole words._
3. The exact, literal sense of something such as a law or promise, as opposed to its underlying purpose or spirit.
   - Simple: The exact words of something, not the deeper meaning behind them.
   - _The court applied the letter of the statute rather than its spirit._
   - _Obeying the letter of a promise while breaking its spirit is a kind of dishonesty._
5. The body of written literary works, or literature considered collectively; always in the plural, letters.
   - Simple: Written works such as novels, poems, and essays, taken as a whole, always in the plural form letters.
   - _He was celebrated throughout the world of letters._
   - _Their salon drew the leading figures of French letters._
6. A standard paper size of 8½ by 11 inches (about 216 by 279 mm), used mainly in the US and Canada. *(US)*
   - Simple: A common size of paper in the US and Canada, 8.5 by 11 inches.
   - _She set the page size to letter before exporting the PDF._
   - _Before printing the report, change the page size from A4 to letter so nothing gets cut off at the bottom._
7. Clipping of varsity letter: a cloth initial of a school, awarded to a student for performance on a school team, chiefly in sports. *(US)* — Clipping of varsity letter.
   - Simple: Clipping of varsity letter: a cloth badge of a school's initial, given to a student for playing on a school team.
   - _He earned a letter in three different sports during high school._
   - _She earned her first letter in track as a sophomore and proudly sewed it onto her jacket._

## Verb

4. To add lettering to something by printing, inscribing, or painting it.
   - Simple: To write, paint, or print letters onto a surface.
   - _Volunteers letter the protest signs by hand each year._
   - _The artist lettered each gravestone with careful strokes._
8. To earn a varsity letter as recognition of athletic achievement. *(US)*
   - Simple: To earn a school sports award known as a letter.
   - _Athletes who letter in two sports receive a special pin._
   - _He lettered in wrestling as a sophomore._

## Noun

9. A single piece of printing type, type considered collectively, or a particular style of type. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A piece of metal printing type, printing type in general, or a particular style of printed letters.
   - _She set each letter of the headline by hand at the press._
   - _The small shop owned so little letter that each page had to be printed and its type broken up before the next could be set._
10. A person who holds back or hinders the progress of others. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A person who gets in the way or slows others down.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A subdivision of a legal text marked by a letter of the alphabet.
- (noun) A person who lets or lets out something, such as someone who rents out a room or draws off blood.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–9** — This comes from Middle English letter, from Old French letre, from Latin littera meaning 'letter of the alphabet' (and in the plural 'epistle'). It replaced the Old English words bōcstæf (literally 'book staff') and ǣrendġewrit (literally 'message writing').
**Meaning 10** — From Middle English letere, equivalent to the verb 'let' plus the suffix '-er'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/letter (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).