letter : Idioms & Phrases

• a written authority from one person empowering another to transact business for him.

Webster 1913

• noun a letter sent by air mail
  air letter; aerogram; aerogramme.
  

WordNet

• noun a letter sent by air mail
  air letter; aerogram; aerogramme.
  

WordNet

• noun a heavy typeface in use from 15th to 18th centuries
  Gothic.
  

WordNet

Black" let`ter

Definitions

1. The old English or Gothic letter, in which the Early English manuscripts were written, and the first English books were printed. It was conspicuous for its blackness. See Type.

Webster 1913

Black"-let`ter adjective

Definitions

1. Written or printed in black letter; as, a black-letter manuscript or book.
2. Given to the study of books in black letter; that is, of old books; out of date.

   Kemble, a black-letter man! J. Boaden.

3. Of or pertaining to the days in the calendar not marked with red letters as saints' days. Hence: Unlucky; inauspicious.

Webster 1913

• noun a plain hand-drawn letter
  block capital.
  

WordNet

• Gothic letters used in papal bulls.

Webster 1913

• noun a letter dealing with business
  

WordNet

• the letter r. See R.

Webster 1913

• letters of several kinds, formerly given by a dishop to traveling clergymam or laymen, to show that they were entitled to receive the cammunion, and to distinguish them from heretics.

Webster 1913

• noun one of the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in writing or printing proper names and sometimes for emphasis; capitals were kept in the upper half of the type case and so became known as upper-case letters"
  uppercase; capital letter; majuscule; capital.
  
  • printers once kept the type for capitals and for small letters in separate cases

WordNet

• F, lettre capitale (Print.), a leading or heading letter, used at the beginning of a sentence and as the first letter of certain words, distinguished, for the most part, both by different form and larger size, from the small (lower-case) letters, which form the greater part of common print or writing.

Webster 1913

• noun a letter that is sent successively to several people
  

WordNet

• . (a) (Com.) See under Credit. (b) (Diplomacy) A letter addressed in identical terms to a number of persons.

Webster 1913

• noun a letter of credit given to a business concern for commercial purposes
  

WordNet

• noun a letter sent along with other documents to provide additional information
  cover letter.
  

WordNet

• noun a letter sent along with other documents to provide additional information
  cover letter.
  

WordNet

• noun a hostile (usually anonymous) letter
  

WordNet

• noun the state of something that has outlived its relevance
  non-issue.
  
• noun mail that can neither be delivered nor returned
  dead mail.
  

WordNet

• . (a) A letter which, after lying for a certain fixed time uncalled for at the post office to which it was directed, is then sent to the general post office to be opened. (b) That which has lost its force or authority; as, the law has become a dead letter.

Webster 1913

• etc. See under Dead, Drop, etc.

Webster 1913

• a department of the general post office where dead letters are examined and disposed of.

Webster 1913

• noun an honorary degree in letters
  

WordNet

• the letter which, in almanacs, denotes Sunday, or the Lord's day (dies Domini). The first seven letters of the alphabet are used for this purpose, the same letter standing for Sunday during a whole year (except in leap year, when the letter is changed at the end of February). After twenty-eight years the same letters return in the same order. The dominical letters go backwards one day every common year, and two every leap year; e. g., if the dominical letter of a common year be G, F will be the dominical letter for the next year. Called also Sunday letter. Cf. Solar cycle, under Cycle, n.

Webster 1913

• . (a) (Print.) Two letters on one shank; a ligature . (b) A mail requiring double postage.

Webster 1913

• a letter to be delivered from the same office where posted.

Webster 1913

• noun a letter from the pope sent to all Roman Catholic bishops throughout the world
  encyclical.
  

WordNet

• (Philol.), a letter which has been added to a root; as, the d in alder (AS. alr) is an excrescent letter.

Webster 1913

• (Typog.), a letter, or style of type, having a broader face than is usual for a letter or type of the same height.

Webster 1913

• noun a letter that is a piece of fan mail
  

WordNet

• noun a letter that is printed in multiple copies and mailed to a list of recipients
  

WordNet

• noun any of several short English words (often having 4 letters) generally regarded as obscene or offensive
  four-letter Anglo-Saxon word.
  

WordNet

• noun any of several short English words (often having 4 letters) generally regarded as obscene or offensive
  four-letter Anglo-Saxon word.
  

WordNet

• (Print.), a small letter or figure standing at the bottom of the line (opposed to superior letter or figure), as in A2, Bn, 2 and n are inferior characters.

Webster 1913

• noun a letter of intent saying that a letter security is being bought for investment and not for resale; avoids need for SEC registration
  

WordNet

• noun a thin explosive device inside an envelope or package and detonated when opened
  parcel bomb; package bomb.
  
• verb send an explosive to
  
  • The Unabomber letter bombed a number of individuals and institutions

WordNet

• noun a bond that has not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and cannot be sold to the general public
  

WordNet

• a book in which copies of letters are kept.

Webster 1913

• noun a numbered compartment in a post office where mail is put to be called for
  Post-Office box; POB; call box; PO Box.
  
• noun public box for deposit of mail
  postbox; mailbox.
  
• noun a private box for delivery of mail
  mailbox.
  

WordNet

• a box for the reception of letters to be mailed or delivered.

Webster 1913

• noun a man who delivers the mail
  mail carrier; mailman; postman; carrier.
  

WordNet

• a person who carries letters; a postman; specif., an officer of the post office who carries letters to the persons to whom they are addressed, and collects letters to be mailed.

Webster 1913

• noun case for carrying letters
  

WordNet

• one who engraves letters or letter punches.

Webster 1913

• a lock that can not be opened when fastened, unless certain movable lettered rings or disks forming a part of in are in such a position (indicated by a particular combination of the letters) as to permit the bolt to be withdrawn.

Webster 1913

• etc. See under Attorney, Credit, etc.

Webster 1913

• noun a document issued by a bank that guarantees the payment of a customer's draft; substitutes the bank's credit for the customer's credit
  

WordNet

• noun any letter expressing an intention to take (or forgo) some action
  

WordNet

• noun an Apocryphal book consisting of a letter ascribed to Jeremiah to the Jews in exile in Babylon warning them against idolatry
  Epistle of Jeremiah.
  

WordNet

• a paper by which creditors extend a debtor's time for paying his debts.

Webster 1913

• noun a license to a private citizen to seize property of another nation
  letter of mark and reprisal; letter of marque.
  

WordNet

• noun a license to a private citizen to seize property of another nation
  letter of mark and reprisal; letter of marque.
  

WordNet

• noun the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech
  alphabetic character; letter.
  
  • his grandmother taught him his letters

WordNet

• noun dull knife used to cut open the envelopes in which letters are mailed or to slit uncut pages of books
  paperknife; paper knife.
  

WordNet

• noun writing paper for use in writing correspondence
  
• noun paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters; usually with matching envelopes
  stationery.
  

WordNet

• paper for writing letters on; especially, a size of paper intermediate between note paper and foolscap. See Paper.

Webster 1913

• a steel punch with a letter engraved on the end, used in making the matrices for type.

Webster 1913

• noun a stock or bond that is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and cannot be sold in the public market
  

WordNet

• noun stock that has not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and cannot be sold to the general public
  

WordNet

• noun a cheaper form of telegram that is sent abroad for delivery the next day
  

WordNet

• noun someone who communicates by means of letters
  correspondent.
  

WordNet

• . (a) One who writes letters. (b) A machine for copying letters . (c) A book giving directions and forms for the writing of letters.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite correct to the last detail; especially being in or following the exact words
  word-perfect.
  
  • a letter-perfect rendition of the soliloquy
  • she was word-perfect in her part

WordNet

• a stamped sheet of letter paper issued by the government, prepared to be folded and sealed for transmission by mail without an envelope.

Webster 1913

• (Eng. Law.), letters or writs directed to particular persons for particular purposes, and hence closed or sealed on the outside; distinguished from letters patent. Burrill.

Webster 1913

• noun legal document naming someone to administer an estate when no executor has been named
  

WordNet

• (Law), the instrument by which an administrator or administratrix is authorized to administer the goods and estate of a deceased person.

Webster 1913

• noun a license to a private citizen to seize property of another nation
  letter of mark and reprisal; letter of marque.
  

WordNet

• (Eccl.), a document duly signed and sealed, by which a bishop makes it known that he has regularly ordained a certain person as priest, deacon, etc.

Webster 1913

• noun an official document granting a right or privilege
  patent.
  

WordNet

• (Eng. Law), a writing executed and sealed, by which power and authority are granted to a person to do some act, or enjoy some right; as, letters patent under the seal of England.

Webster 1913

• noun a legal document from a probate court or court officer informing you of your appointment as executor of a will and empowering you to discharge those responsibilities
  

WordNet

• (Law), an instrument granted by the proper officer to an executor after probate of a will, authorizing him to act as executor.

Webster 1913

• noun a personal letter to a loved one expressing affection
  billet doux.
  

WordNet

• a letter of courtship. Shak.

Webster 1913

• noun the characters that were once kept in bottom half of a compositor's type case
  minuscule; lowercase; lower-case letter.
  

WordNet

• noun a man devoted to literary or scholarly activities
  

WordNet

• noun a newsletter written by an analyst of the stock market and sold to subscribers
  

WordNet

• (Heb. Gram.), a letter that is pronounced, as opposed to one that is quiescent.

Webster 1913

News"-let`ter noun

Definitions

1. A circular letter, written or printed for the purpose of disseminating news. This was the name given to the earliest English newspapers.

Webster 1913

• noun a cheaper form of telegram sent for delivery the next day
  

WordNet

• among the Romans, one of the first eight letters of the alphabet, which were repeated successively from the first to the last day of the year. One of these always expressed the market day, which returned every nine days (every eight days by our reckoning).

Webster 1913

• noun a letter of protest; addressed to one person but intended for the general public
  

WordNet

• in the Semitic languages, letters which are added to the ordinary forms of words, to express additional emphasis, or some change in the sense.

Webster 1913

• noun a letter dealing with personal affairs
  

WordNet

• noun a letter that has two or more pronunciations
  polyphone.
  
  • `c' is a polyphone because it is pronounced like `k' in `car' but like `s' in `cell'

WordNet

• . See Y.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite memorable for being a special occasion
  
  • on red-letter nights a large gathering greeted the celebrity

WordNet

Red"-let`ter adjective

Definitions

1. Of or pertaining to a red letter; marked by red letters.

Webster 1913

• noun a memorably happy or noteworthy day (from the custom of marking holy days in red on church calendars)
  

WordNet

• a day that is fortunate or auspicious; so called in allusion to the custom of marking holy days, or saints' days, in the old calendars with red letters.

Webster 1913

• a letter, the address of which is, on payment of a special fee, registered in the post office and the transmission and delivery of which are attended to with particular care.

Webster 1913

• The collective body of literary or learned men.

Webster 1913

• noun a typeface used in ancient Roman inscriptions
  roman type; roman print; roman.
  

WordNet

• noun any character from an ancient Germanic alphabet used in Scandinavia from the 3rd century to the Middle Ages
  rune.
  
  • each rune had its own magical significance

WordNet

• noun the letter A in red; Puritans required adulterers to wear it
  

WordNet

Sea" let"ter

Definitions

1. (Mar. Law.) The customary certificate of national character which neutral merchant vessels are bound to carry in time of war; a passport for a vessel and cargo.

Webster 1913

• a letter conveyed by a ship not a mail packet.

Webster 1913

• noun a short personal letter
  note; line; billet.
  
  • drop me a line when you get there

WordNet

• have the form of capital letters and height of the body of the lower-case letters.

Webster 1913

• noun the characters that were once kept in bottom half of a compositor's type case
  minuscule; lowercase; lower-case letter.
  

WordNet

• . (Print.), a lower-case letter. See Lower-case, and Capital letter, under Capital, a.

Webster 1913

• . See Dominical letter, under Dominical.

Webster 1913

• (Print.), a figure or letter printed above the line, as a reference to a note or an index of a power, etc; as, in x2 + yn, 2 is a superior figure, n a superior letter Cf. Inferior figure, under Inferior. = superscripted number, letter

Webster 1913

• a large or capital letter. Obs.

Webster 1913

• (Law), letters containing threats, especially those designed to extort money, or to obtain other property, by menaces; blackmailing letters.

Webster 1913

• adverb in every detail
  to a T; just right; to perfection.
  
  • the new house suited them to a T

WordNet

• noun a letter of credit given to a traveler
  traveler's letter of credit.
  

WordNet

• noun a letter of credit given to a traveler
  traveler's letter of credit.
  

WordNet

• noun one of the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in writing or printing proper names and sometimes for emphasis; capitals were kept in the upper half of the type case and so became known as upper-case letters"
  uppercase; capital letter; majuscule; capital.
  
  • printers once kept the type for capitals and for small letters in separate cases

WordNet

• noun an award earned by participation in a school sport
  letter.
  
  • he won letters in three sports

WordNet