literal Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind
typographical error; misprint; erratum; typo; literal error.
adjective satellite being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something
real; genuine; actual.
- her actual motive
- a literal solitude like a desert"- G.K.Chesterton
- a genuine dilemma
adjective satellite without interpretation or embellishment
- a literal depiction of the scene before him
adjective limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text
- a literal translation
adjective satellite avoiding embellishment or exaggeration (used for emphasis)
- it's the literal truth

F. litéral, littéral, L. litteralis, literalis, fr. littera, litera, a letter. See Letter.

According to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical; as, the literal meaning of a phrase.
It hath but one simple literal sense whose light the owls can not abide. Tyndale
.
Following the letter or exact words; not free.
A middle course between the rigor of literal translations and the liberty of paraphrasts. Hooker.
Consisting of, or expressed by, letters.
The literal notation of numbers was known to Europeans before the ciphers. Johnson.
Giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative; matter-of fast; -- applied to persons.