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letter

   Also found in: Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
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.

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

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.

letter
Noun
1. a written or printed message, usually enclosed in an envelope and sent by post
2. any of a set of conventional symbols used in writing or printing a language: character of the alphabet
3. the strict meaning of an agreement or document; exact wording: the letter of the law
4. to the letter precisely: you have to follow treatment to the letter for it to be effective
Verb
to write or mark letters on (a sign) [Latin littera letter of the alphabet]
lettering n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.letterletter - a written message addressed to a person or organization; "mailed an indignant letter to the editor"
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.letterletter - the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech; "his grandmother taught him his letters"
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.letterletter - an award earned by participation in a school sport; "he won letters in three sports"
accolade, honor, laurels, honour, award - a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction; "an award for bravery"
Verb1.letterletter - win an athletic letter
garner, earn - acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions
2.letterletter - set down or print with letters
print, impress - reproduce by printing
3.letterletter - 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"

letter
noun 2. character, mark, sign, symbol to the letter precisely, strictly, literally, exactly, faithfully, accurately, word for word, punctiliously >> adjective epistolatory
Translations
Spanish letter [ˈlɛtəʳ] n [of alphabet] → letra (= correspondence); carta;
letters npl (= literature, learning) → letras fpl;
small/capital letter → minúscula/mayúscula;
covering letter → carta adjunta

French letter [ˈlɛtəʳ] nlettre f;
letters npl (Literature) → lettres;
small/capital letter → minuscule f/majuscule f;
letter of credit → lettre f de crédit

German letter [ˈlɛtəʳ] nBrief m [of alphabet] → Buchstabe m;
small/capital letter → Klein-/Großbuchstabe m

Italian letter [ˈlɛtəʳ] nlettera;
letters npl (LITERATURE) → lettere;
small/capital letter → lettera minuscola/maiuscola;
letter of credit → lettera di credito;
documentary letter of credit → lettera di credito documentata

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Miss Garth's doubts thronged back irresistibly on her mind as she sealed her letter to Mrs.
You saw me send the gardener on to the house, with a letter addressed, in a strange handwriting, to Miss Fairlie?
Being resolved, however, to pursue the paths of this giant honour, as the gigantic poet Lee calls it, he determined to write a farewel letter to Sophia; and accordingly proceeded to a house not far off, where, being furnished with proper materials, he wrote as follows:--
 
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