letter

let·ter  (ltr)

n.

1.

a. A written symbol or character representing a speech sound and being a component of an alphabet.

b. A written symbol or character used in the graphemic representation of a word, such as the h in Thames. See Note at Thames.

2. A written or printed communication directed to a person or organization.

3. A certified document granting rights to its bearer. Often used in the plural.

4. Literal meaning: had to adhere to the letter of the law.

5. letters (used with a sing. verb)

a. Literary culture; belles-lettres.

b. Learning or knowledge, especially of literature.

c. Literature or writing as a profession.

6. Printing

a. A piece of type that prints a single character.

b. A specific style of type.

c. The characters in one style of type.

7. An emblem in the shape of the initial of a school awarded for outstanding performance, especially in varsity athletics.

v. let·tered, let·ter·ing, let·ters

v.tr.

1. To write letters on.

2. To write in letters.

v.intr.

1. To write or form letters.

2. To earn a school letter, as for outstanding athletic achievement: She lettered in three collegiate sports.

Idiom:

to the letter

To the last detail; exactly: followed instructions to the letter.

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[Middle English, from Old French lettre, from Latin littera, perhaps from Etruscan, from Greek diphther, hide, leather, writing surface.]

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letter·er n.

Synonyms: letter, epistle, missive, note
These nouns denote a written communication directed to another: received a letter of complaint; the Epistles of the New Testament; a missive of condolence; a thank-you note.

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letter [ˈlɛtə]

n

1. (Linguistics) any of a set of conventional symbols used in writing or printing a language, each symbol being associated with a group of phonetic values in the language; character of the alphabet

2. a written or printed communication addressed to a person, company, etc., usually sent by post in an envelope Related adj epistolary

3. (often preceded by the) the strict legalistic or pedantic interpretation of the meaning of an agreement, document, etc.; exact wording as distinct from actual intention (esp in the phrase the letter of the law) Compare spirit¹ [10]

4. (Communication Arts / Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) Printing archaic a style of typeface a fancy letter

to the letter

a.  following the literal interpretation or wording exactly

b.  attending to every detail

vb

1. to write or mark letters on (a sign, etc.), esp by hand

2. (tr) to set down or print using letters See also letters

[from Old French lettre, from Latin littera letter of the alphabet]

letterer  n

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	letter - a written message addressed to a person or organization; "mailed an indignant letter to the editor" missive document - anything serving as a representation of a person's thinking by means of symbolic marks mail - the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service text, textual matter - the words of something written; "there were more than a thousand words of text"; "they handed out the printed text of the mayor's speech"; "he wants to reconstruct the original text" correspondence - communication by the exchange of letters business letter - a letter dealing with business cover letter, covering letter - a letter sent along with other documents to provide additional information crank letter - a hostile (usually anonymous) letter encyclical, encyclical letter - a letter from the pope sent to all Roman Catholic bishops throughout the world fan letter - a letter that is a piece of fan mail personal letter - a letter dealing with personal affairs form letter - a letter that is printed in multiple copies and mailed to a list of recipients open letter - a letter of protest; addressed to one person but intended for the general public chain letter - a letter that is sent successively to several people pastoral - a letter from a pastor to the congregation round robin - a letter signed by a number of people aerogram, aerogramme, air letter, airmail letter - a letter sent by air mail epistle - a specially long, formal letter dead mail, dead letter - mail that can neither be delivered nor returned letter of intent - any letter expressing an intention to take (or forgo) some action postscript, PS - a note appended to a letter after the signature name and address, destination, address - written directions for finding some location; written on letters or packages that are to be delivered to that location line - text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen; "the letter consisted of three short lines"; "there are six lines in every stanza" invitation - a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something; "an invitation to lunch"; "she threw the invitation away"
	2.	letter - the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech; "his grandmother taught him his letters" alphabetic character, letter of the alphabet spelling - forming words with letters according to the principles underlying accepted usage alphabet - a character set that includes letters and is used to write a language grapheme, graphic symbol, character - a written symbol that is used to represent speech; "the Greek alphabet has 24 characters" ascender - a lowercase letter that has a part extending above other lowercase letters descender - a lowercase letter that has a part extending below other lowercase letters digram, digraph - two successive letters (especially two letters used to represent a single sound: `sh' in `shoe') initial - the first letter of a word (especially a person's name); "he refused to put the initials FRS after his name" a - the 1st letter of the Roman alphabet b - the 2nd letter of the Roman alphabet c - the 3rd letter of the Roman alphabet d - the 4th letter of the Roman alphabet e - the 5th letter of the Roman alphabet f - the 6th letter of the Roman alphabet g - the 7th letter of the Roman alphabet h - the 8th letter of the Roman alphabet i - the 9th letter of the Roman alphabet j - the 10th letter of the Roman alphabet k - the 11th letter of the Roman alphabet l - the 12th letter of the Roman alphabet m - the 13th letter of the Roman alphabet n - the 14th letter of the Roman alphabet o - the 15th letter of the Roman alphabet p - the 16th letter of the Roman alphabet q - the 17th letter of the Roman alphabet r - the 18th letter of the Roman alphabet s - the 19th letter of the Roman alphabet t - the 20th letter of the Roman alphabet u - the 21st letter of the Roman alphabet v - the 22nd letter of the Roman alphabet double-u, w - the 23rd letter of the Roman alphabet x, ex - the 24th letter of the Roman alphabet wye, y - the 25th letter of the Roman alphabet ezed, izzard, zed, zee, z - the 26th letter of the Roman alphabet; "the British call Z zed and the Scots call it ezed but Americans call it zee"; "he doesn't know A from izzard" alpha - the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet beta - the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet gamma - the 3rd letter of the Greek alphabet delta - the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet epsilon - the 5th letter of the Greek alphabet zeta - the 6th letter of the Greek alphabet eta - the 7th letter of the Greek alphabet theta - the 8th letter of the Greek alphabet iota - the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet kappa - the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet lambda - the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet mu - the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet nu - the 13th letter of the Greek alphabet xi - the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet omicron - the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet pi - the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet rho - the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet sigma - the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet tau - the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet upsilon - the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet phi - the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet khi, chi - the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet psi - the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet omega - the last (24th) letter of the Greek alphabet aleph - the 1st letter of the Hebrew alphabet beth - the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet gimel - the 3rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet daleth - the 4th letter of the Hebrew alphabet
	3.	letter - owner who lets another person use something (housing usually) for hire owner, proprietor - (law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business; "he is the owner of a chain of restaurants"
	4.	letter - a strictly literal interpretation (as distinct from the intention); "he followed instructions to the letter"; "he obeyed the letter of the law" literal interpretation - an interpretation based on the exact wording
	5.	letter - an award earned by participation in a school sport; "he won letters in three sports" varsity letter accolade, honor, laurels, honour, award - a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction; "an award for bravery"
Verb	1.	letter - win an athletic letter               garner, earn - acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions
	2.	letter - set down or print with letters       print, impress - reproduce by printing
	3.	letter - mark letters on or mark with letters write - mark or trace on a surface; "The artist wrote Chinese characters on a big piece of white paper"; "Russian is written with the Cyrillic alphabet"

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letter

noun

1. message, line, answer, note, reply, communication, dispatch, acknowledgment, billet (archaic), missive, epistle I had received a letter from a very close friend.

2. character, mark, sign, symbol the letters of the alphabet

plural noun

learning, education, culture, literature, humanities, scholarship, erudition, belles-lettres bon viveur, man of letters and long-time party supporter

to the letter precisely, strictly, literally, exactly, faithfully, accurately, word for word, punctiliously She obeyed his instructions to the letter.

Related words
adjective epistolatory

Quotations
"Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls" [John Donne To Sir Henry Wotton]
"All letters, methinks, should be free and easy as one's discourse, not studied as an oration, not made up of hard words like a charm" [Dorothy Osborne Letter to William Temple]

Translations

letter [ˈletəʳ]

A. N

1. [of alphabet] → letra f
the letter G → la letra G
small letter → (letra f) minúscula f
capital letter → (letra f) mayúscula f
the letter of the law → la ley escrita
to follow instructions to the letter → cumplir las instrucciones al pie de la letra

2. (= missive) → carta f
letters of Galdós (as published) → epistolario m de Galdós
letter of acknowledgement → carta f de acuse de recibo
letter of advice → carta f de aviso, notificación f
letter of application → instancia f, carta f de solicitud
letter of appointment → carta f de confirmación de un puesto de trabajo
letter of attorney or proxy → (carta f de) poder m
by letter → por carta, por escrito
covering letter → carta f adjunta
letters of credence → cartas fpl credenciales
letter of credit → carta f de crédito
documentary/irrevocable letter of credit → carta f de crédito documentaria/irrevocable
letter of intent → carta f de intenciones
letter of introduction → carta f de presentación
letter of lien → carta f de gravamen
letters patent → título m de privilegio, patente f (de invención)
letter of protest → carta f or escrito m de protesta
letter of recommendation/reference → carta f de recomendación

3. letters (= learning) → letras fpl
man of letters → hombre m de letras, literato m

B. VT → estampar con letras
lettered in gold → estampado con letras doradas
a hand-lettered sign → un cartel escrito a mano
the boxes were lettered according to country → las cajas estaban ordenadas por letras según los países

C. CPD letter bomb N → carta f bomba
letter card N (Brit) → carta-tarjeta f
letter carrier N (US) → cartero/a m/f
letter opener N → abrecartas m inv
letter quality printer N → impresora f calidad carta
letter writer N → corresponsal mf
I'm not much of a letter writer → apenas escribo cartas

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letter [ˈlɛtə^r]

n

(= note) → lettre f
letter of resignation → lettre de démission
letter of credit → lettre de crédit

[alphabet] → lettre f
the letter E → la lettre E
small letter → minuscule f
see also capital
to the letter → à la lettre
the letter of the law → la lettre de la loi

letters npl (LITERATURE) → lettres fpl
letter bomb n → lettre f piégée

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letter

n

(of alphabet) → Buchstabe m; the letter of the law → der Buchstabe des Gesetzes; to the letter → buchstabengetreu, genau; did he do it? — to the letter → hat er es getan? — ganz nach Vorschrift

(= written message) → Brief m; (Comm etc) → Schreiben nt (form) (→ to an +acc); by letter → schriftlich, brieflich; to write a letter of complaint/apology → sich schriftlich beschweren/entschuldigen

(Liter) letters → Literatur f; man of letters → Belletrist m; (= writer) → Literat m

(US, = award) als Auszeichnung verliehenes Schulabzeichen

vt sign, label → beschriften; he lettered the invitations in gold → er ließ die Einladungen in Gold(buchstaben) drucken

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letter:

letter bomb

n → Briefbombe f

letter box

n (Brit) → Briefkasten m

letter card

n → Briefkarte f

letter carrier

n (US) → Briefträger(in) m(f), → Postbote m → /-botin f

letter drop

n → Briefeinwurf m

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letter:

letter jacket

n (US: Univ) Jacke, auf die die Initialen des besuchten Colleges gestickt sind

letter of credit

n → Kreditbrief m, → Akkreditiv nt

letter opener

n → Brieföffner m

letter-perfect

adj → textsicher, sicher im Text; to be letter → den Text perfekt beherrschen, den Text bis aufs Wort beherrschen

letterpress

n → Hochdruck m

letter quality

n (of printout) → Korrespondenz- or Briefqualität f, → Schönschrift f

letter-quality

adj script → korrespondenzfähig; printout → in Korrespondenz- or Briefqualität; letter printer → Schönschriftdrucker m

letter rack

n → Briefablage f

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letter [ˈlɛtəʳ] n

a. (missive) → lettera
by letter → per lettera
letter of introduction/application/protest → lettera di presentazione/di domanda/di protesta

b. (of alphabet) → lettera
the letter G → la (lettera) G
small/capital letter → lettera minuscola/maiuscola
she's got a lot of letters after her name → ha un mucchio di titoli
the letter of the law (fig) → la lettera della legge
to follow instructions to the letter → seguire alla lettera le istruzioni

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letter

n letter [ˈletə]

1 a mark expressing a sound the letters of the alphabet. letter حَرْف буква písmeno bogstav der Buchstabe γράμμα letra täht حرف kirjain lettre אוֹת अक्षर slovo betű huruf stafur lettera 文字 글자 raidė burts huruf letter bokstav litera letra literă буква písmeno črka slovo bokstav ตัวอักษร harf 字母 буква; літера حرف chữ cái 字母

2 a written message, especially sent by post in an envelope She slowly took the letter from its envelope; Did you post my letter? brief رِسالَه писмо dopis brev der Brief γράμμα, επιστολή carta kiri نامه kirje lettre מִכתָב पत्र pismo levél surat (sendi)bréf lettera 手紙 편지 laiškas vēstule surat brief brev list carta scrisoare письмо list pismo pismo brev จดหมาย mektup 信 лист; послання خط، رسالہ thư 信

n lettering

1 the way in which letters are formed the art of lettering. letterwerk فَن كتابَة الحُروف оформяне на букви písmo skrift; skrifttype die Beschriftung σχεδίαση γραμμάτων rotulación kiri حروف گذاری kirjoitus lettrage כְּתִיבָה लेखन-प्रक्रिया opis, natisak betűtípus pembuatan huruf það að áletra lettering, scrittura レタリング 글자를 쓰는 일 šriftas burtu rakstība penulisan huruf het letteren skrifttype, bokstavtegning liternictwo ortografia inscripţionare шрифт písmo pisava pisanje pisama textning การจัดวางตัวหนังสือ harflerin yazımı, harfleme 刻字, 寫字, 印字 напис خط لکھنے کا فن cách viết chữ 写字

2 letters which have been drawn, painted etc He repainted the lettering over the shop door. letters الحُروف المكتوبَه أو المنقوشَه надпис nápis bogstaver die Aufschrift γράμματα, επιγραφή inscripción kiri علامت گذاری با حروف kirjoitus lettrage כִּיתּוּב अक्षरांकन, अक्षरलेखन natpis felirat tulisan áletrun caratteri 看板の文字 써넣은 글자 užrašas uzraksts huruf-huruf belettering bokstaver napis letreiro inscripţie надпись nápis napis natpis bokstäver, []skrift ตัวหนังสือ yazılı harfler 雕刻字，手寫字，印刷字 напис نقش کیے گئے یا بنائے گئے حروف chữ viết 印字

n letterbox

1 a slit in a door (sometimes with a box behind it) through which mail from the post is put He put the card through the letterbox. briewebus صُنْدوق الرسائِل пощенска кутия poštovní schránka brevsprække der Briefkasten ταχυδρομικό κουτί buzón kirjakast صندوق نامه postiluukku boîte à/aux lettres תֵּיבַת מִכתָּבִים पत्र पेटी otvor za poštu levélszekrény kotak surat bréfalúga cassetta della posta 郵便受け 우편함 plyšys duryse paštui įmesti, pašto dėžutė pastkastīte peti surat brievenbus brevsprekk otwór na listy w drzwiach caixa do correio cutie de scrisori щель poštová schránka pisemski nabiralnik poštansko sanduče brevinkast, -låda ตู้ใส่จดหมาย mektup kutusu 信箱 поштова скринька دروازے میں ایک لمبا شگاف جس سے ڈاک اندر ڈالی جائے khe hở ở các cửa lớn có nắp lật để bỏ thư 信箱

2 a postbox. posbus صُنْدوق البَريد кутия poštovní schránka postkasse der Briefkasten γραμματοκιβώτιο buzón postkast صندوق پست postilaatikko boîte aux lettres תֵּיבַת דוֹאַר लेटर बॉक्स poštanski pretinac postaláda kotak surat póstkassi cassetta della posta 郵便箱 우편함 pašto dėžutė pastkaste peti surat brievenbus postkasse skrzynka pocztowa marco do correio cutie poştală почтовый ящик poštová schránka poštni nabiralnik poštansko sanduče brevlåda ตู้ไปรษณีย์ posta kutusu 郵筒 поштова скринька ڈاک کا ڈبہ hòm thư 邮筒

n letterhead

the name and address of a company, a person etc printed at the top of a piece of writing paper. briefhoof ورَقَه يُطْبَع في رأسِها اسْم الشَّرِكَه وعُنْوانها заглавна част на писмо hlavička (dopisu) brevhoved der Briefkopf επικεφαλίδα με στοιχεία εταιρείας, φίρμα membrete kirjapea, kirjapäis سربرگ kirjelomakkeen otsikko en tête כּוֹתָר सरनामा zaglavlje pisma cégjelzés, fejléc kepala surat intestazione (di carta da lettere) （便箋上部に印刷した 레터헤드(편지지의 윗머리에 인쇄한 개인, 회사 등의 주소, 이름 등) firminio blanko rekvizitai (vēstuļpapīra) ´galviņa kepala surat1 briefhoofd brevhode nagłówek фирменный бланк záhlavie listu, hlavička pisemska glava zaglavlje pisma brevhuvud หัวจดหมาย başlık, antet 印有抬頭的信箋 шапка, бланк خطوط کے کاغذ پر چھپا نام پتہ وغیرہ tiêu đề 印有抬头的信笺

to the letter

precisely; according to every detail He followed his father's instructions to the letter. na die letter, letterlik حَرْفِيّاً прецизно do písmene til punkt og prikke haargenau, buchstäblich κατά γράμμα al pie de la letra täht-tähelt دقیقاً؛ حرف به حرف tarkasti à la lettre כִּכתָבו וּכִלשוֹנוֹ हूबहू, ज्यों का त्यों, यथातथ्य doslovce szó szerint setepatnya bókstaflega alla lettera 厳密に 글자 그대로 tiksliai, skrupulingai burts burtā; precīzi benar-benar naar de letter til punkt og prikke co do joty à letra întocmai, cu stricteţe буквально, в точности do písmena dobesedno bukvalno bokstavligt, till punkt och pricka ทุกรายละเอียด harfi harfine, tastamam 精確地, 不折不扣地 буквально; точно تفصیلا theo chi tiết 不折不扣地执行

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letter → حرف, خطاب dopis, písmeno bogstav, brev Brief, Buchstabe γράμμα, επιστολή carta, letra kirjain, kirje lettre pismo, slovo lettera 手紙, 文字 글자, 편지 brief, letter bokstav, brev list, litera carta, letra буква, письмо bokstav, brev จดหมาย, ตัวอักษร harf, mektup chữ cái, thư 信函, 字母