mark signifying a sound

littĕra (less correctly lītĕra), ae, f. [lino, q. v.], a letter, a written sign or mark signifying a sound.

Lit.:

cubitum hercle longis litteris signabo jam usquequaque, si quis, etc.,

Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 7:

quid hae locuntur litterae?

id. Bacch. 4, 7, 3; cf.: quid istae narrant? Tox. Perconctare ex ipsis;

ipsae tibi narrabunt,

id. Pers. 4, 3, 29:

sus rostro si humi A litteram impresserit,

Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23:

priscarum litterarum notae,

id. ib. 2, 41, 85:

maximis litteris incisum,

id. Verr. 2, 2, 63, § 154 fin.:

lenis appellatio litterarum,

id. Brut. 74, 159:

suavis appellatio litterarum,

Quint. 11, 3, 35:

quae si nostris litteris scribantur,

id. 12, 10, 28 litterarum ordine, in alphabetical order, Plin. 37, 9, 54, § 138:

verba primis litteris notare, Prob. de Not. Signif. 1 Huschke: digerere in litteram,

to arrange alphabetically, Sen. Ep. 68, 18: scire litteras, [p. 1072] to be able to read and write, Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 23; Vitr. 1, 1, 14:

nescire litteras,

not to be able to read and write, id. Clem. 2, 1, 2; Suet. Ner. 10:

scribere aureis litteris,

Gai. Inst. 2, 77:

scientia litterarum,

the art of writing, Dig. 29, 2, 93:

facere litteram or litteras,

to write, Plaut. As. 4, 1, 22; Cic. Ac. 2, 2, 6.—In the language of comedy:

homo trium litterarum, i. e. fur,

a thief, Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 46: litteram ex se longam facere, i. e. to make an I by hanging perpendicularly, to hang one's self:

neque quicquam meliust mihi, ut opinor, quam ex me ut faciam litteram longam, meum laqueo collum quando obstrinxero,

id. ib. 1, 1, 37:

littera salutaris, i. e. A. (absolvo) and tristis, i. e. C. (condemno), which were put on the voting-tablets,

Cic. Mil. 6, 15.—

Transf.

A word, a line:

ad me litteram numquam misit,

Cic. Fam. 2, 17, 6: ad litteram, word for word, literally:

locum ad litteram subjeci,

Quint. 9, 1, 15.—

A handwriting:

Alexidis manum amabam, quod tam prope accedebat ad similitudinem tuae litterae,

Cic. Att. 7, 2, 3; cf.:

arguit ipsorum quos littera,

Juv. 13, 138 (v. also infra B. 1. fin.).—

Usually plur.

Littĕrae, ārum, f., a letter, epistle: litteras resignare, to unseal or open a letter, Plaut. Trin. 3, 3, 65:

ut litterarum ego harum sermonem audio,

id. Ps. 1, 1, 97; Cic. Att. 1, 13, 1:

dare alicui litteras ad aliquem,

id. Cat. 3, 4, 9:

litteras mittere,

id. Att. 5, 21, 2:

reddere alicui,

id. ib. 5, 21, 4:

accipere,

id. ib. 5, 21, 7:

remittere,

id. ib. 11, 16, 4:

nullas iis praeterquam ad te et ad Brutum dedi litteras,

id. Fam. 3, 7, 1:

queri apud aliquem per litteras,

id. Att. 5, 21, 13: invitare aliquem perlitteras id. ib. 13, 2, 2:

civitatum animos litteris temptare,

Caes. B. C. 1, 40, 1: litterae missae, a letter sent by a person: litterae allatae, a letter received: hence, liber litterarum missarum et allatarum, a letter-book:

L. M. (i. e. litterae missae)... L. A. (i. e. litterae allatae), etc.,

Cic. Font. 4, 8; id. Verr. 2, 3, 71, § 167.—In poets also sometimes in sing.:

quam legis a rapta Briseide littera venit,

Ov. H. 3, 1; 5, 2; id. M. 9, 515; Tib. 3, 2, 27; Mart. 10, 73 al.—

A writing, document, paper:

litterae publicae,

Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 63, § 140; 2, 4, 16, § 35; esp. a written acknowledgment:

littera poscetur,

Ov. A. A. 1, 428.—

An account-book:

ratio omnis et litterae,

Cic. Quint. 11, 37; id. Verr. 2, 4, 12, § 27.—

An edict, ordinance:

praetoris litterae,

Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 22, § 56:

litteras revocavit,

letter of appointment, commission, Suet. Vesp. 8. —

Written monuments, records, literature:

abest historia litteris nostris,

is wanting in our literature, Cic. Leg. 1, 2, 5:

Graecae de philosophia litterae,

philosophical literature, id. Div. 2, 2, 5:

genus hoc scriptionis nondum satis Latinis litteris illustratae,

id. Brut. 64, 228; id. Tusc. 1, 1, 1; id. Fin. 1, 2, 4:

Graecis litteris studere,

id. Brut. 20, 78:

damnum Hortensii interitu Latinae litterae fecerunt,

id. ib. 33, 125:

nullam artem litteris sine interprete et sine aliqua exercitatione percipi posse,

merely from books, id. Fam. 7, 19:

quod litteris exstet, Pherecydes primum dixit animos hominum esse sempiternos,

id. Tusc. 1, 16, 38:

parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,

Liv. 6, 1, 2; 7, 3, 6:

Etruscae,

id. 9, 36, 3:

paucissimos adhuc eloquentes litterae Romanae tulerunt,

Quint. 10, 1, 123: amor litterarum, id. prooem. 6.—

History, inasmuch as it is derived from written monuments:

cupidissimus litterarum fuit,

Nep. Cat. 3, 1; id. Pelop. 1:

parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,

Liv. 6, 1.—

Literary labor, composition:

omnis varietas litterarum mearum,

Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 12:

non nihil temporis tribuit litteris,

Nep. Hann. 13, 2.—

An inscription, Ov. M. 11, 706.—

Learning, the sciences, liberal education, scholarship, letters:

sit mihi orator tinctus litteris: audierit aliquid, legerit,

Cic. de Or. 2, 20, 85:

erant in eo plurimae litterae,

id. Brut. 76, 265:

homo communium litterarum, et politioris humanitatis non expers,

id. de Or. 2, 7, 28:

homo sine ingenio, sine litteris,

id. Verr. 2, 4, 44, § 98:

fuit in illo ingenium, ratio, memoria, litterae, cura, cogitatio, diligentia,

id. Phil. 2, 45, 116:

mihi nihil libri, nihil litterae, nihil doctrina prodest,

id. Att. 9, 10, 2:

litterarum scientia,

id. Brut. 42, 153:

litterarum coguitio,

id. de Or. 3, 32, 127: nescire litteras, to be without a liberal education, id. Brut. 74, 259:

altiores litterae,

magic, Plin. 14, 4, 5, § 51.—Comically of the art of love: Litteras didicisti;

quando scis, sine alios discere,

Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 22.

littĕra (less correctly lītĕra), ae, f. [lino, q. v.], a letter, a written sign or mark signifying a sound.

Lit.:

cubitum hercle longis litteris signabo jam usquequaque, si quis, etc.,

Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 7:

quid hae locuntur litterae?

id. Bacch. 4, 7, 3; cf.: quid istae narrant? Tox. Perconctare ex ipsis;

ipsae tibi narrabunt,

id. Pers. 4, 3, 29:

sus rostro si humi A litteram impresserit,

Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23:

priscarum litterarum notae,

id. ib. 2, 41, 85:

maximis litteris incisum,

id. Verr. 2, 2, 63, § 154 fin.:

lenis appellatio litterarum,

id. Brut. 74, 159:

suavis appellatio litterarum,

Quint. 11, 3, 35:

quae si nostris litteris scribantur,

id. 12, 10, 28 litterarum ordine, in alphabetical order, Plin. 37, 9, 54, § 138:

verba primis litteris notare, Prob. de Not. Signif. 1 Huschke: digerere in litteram,

to arrange alphabetically, Sen. Ep. 68, 18: scire litteras, [p. 1072] to be able to read and write, Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 23; Vitr. 1, 1, 14:

nescire litteras,

not to be able to read and write, id. Clem. 2, 1, 2; Suet. Ner. 10:

scribere aureis litteris,

Gai. Inst. 2, 77:

scientia litterarum,

the art of writing, Dig. 29, 2, 93:

facere litteram or litteras,

to write, Plaut. As. 4, 1, 22; Cic. Ac. 2, 2, 6.—In the language of comedy:

homo trium litterarum, i. e. fur,

a thief, Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 46: litteram ex se longam facere, i. e. to make an I by hanging perpendicularly, to hang one's self:

neque quicquam meliust mihi, ut opinor, quam ex me ut faciam litteram longam, meum laqueo collum quando obstrinxero,

id. ib. 1, 1, 37:

littera salutaris, i. e. A. (absolvo) and tristis, i. e. C. (condemno), which were put on the voting-tablets,

Cic. Mil. 6, 15.—

Transf.

A word, a line:

ad me litteram numquam misit,

Cic. Fam. 2, 17, 6: ad litteram, word for word, literally:

locum ad litteram subjeci,

Quint. 9, 1, 15.—

A handwriting:

Alexidis manum amabam, quod tam prope accedebat ad similitudinem tuae litterae,

Cic. Att. 7, 2, 3; cf.:

arguit ipsorum quos littera,

Juv. 13, 138 (v. also infra B. 1. fin.).—

Usually plur.

Littĕrae, ārum, f., a letter, epistle: litteras resignare, to unseal or open a letter, Plaut. Trin. 3, 3, 65:

ut litterarum ego harum sermonem audio,

id. Ps. 1, 1, 97; Cic. Att. 1, 13, 1:

dare alicui litteras ad aliquem,

id. Cat. 3, 4, 9:

litteras mittere,

id. Att. 5, 21, 2:

reddere alicui,

id. ib. 5, 21, 4:

accipere,

id. ib. 5, 21, 7:

remittere,

id. ib. 11, 16, 4:

nullas iis praeterquam ad te et ad Brutum dedi litteras,

id. Fam. 3, 7, 1:

queri apud aliquem per litteras,

id. Att. 5, 21, 13: invitare aliquem perlitteras id. ib. 13, 2, 2:

civitatum animos litteris temptare,

Caes. B. C. 1, 40, 1: litterae missae, a letter sent by a person: litterae allatae, a letter received: hence, liber litterarum missarum et allatarum, a letter-book:

L. M. (i. e. litterae missae)... L. A. (i. e. litterae allatae), etc.,

Cic. Font. 4, 8; id. Verr. 2, 3, 71, § 167.—In poets also sometimes in sing.:

quam legis a rapta Briseide littera venit,

Ov. H. 3, 1; 5, 2; id. M. 9, 515; Tib. 3, 2, 27; Mart. 10, 73 al.—

A writing, document, paper:

litterae publicae,

Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 63, § 140; 2, 4, 16, § 35; esp. a written acknowledgment:

littera poscetur,

Ov. A. A. 1, 428.—

An account-book:

ratio omnis et litterae,

Cic. Quint. 11, 37; id. Verr. 2, 4, 12, § 27.—

An edict, ordinance:

praetoris litterae,

Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 22, § 56:

litteras revocavit,

letter of appointment, commission, Suet. Vesp. 8. —

Written monuments, records, literature:

abest historia litteris nostris,

is wanting in our literature, Cic. Leg. 1, 2, 5:

Graecae de philosophia litterae,

philosophical literature, id. Div. 2, 2, 5:

genus hoc scriptionis nondum satis Latinis litteris illustratae,

id. Brut. 64, 228; id. Tusc. 1, 1, 1; id. Fin. 1, 2, 4:

Graecis litteris studere,

id. Brut. 20, 78:

damnum Hortensii interitu Latinae litterae fecerunt,

id. ib. 33, 125:

nullam artem litteris sine interprete et sine aliqua exercitatione percipi posse,

merely from books, id. Fam. 7, 19:

quod litteris exstet, Pherecydes primum dixit animos hominum esse sempiternos,

id. Tusc. 1, 16, 38:

parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,

Liv. 6, 1, 2; 7, 3, 6:

Etruscae,

id. 9, 36, 3:

paucissimos adhuc eloquentes litterae Romanae tulerunt,

Quint. 10, 1, 123: amor litterarum, id. prooem. 6.—

History, inasmuch as it is derived from written monuments:

cupidissimus litterarum fuit,

Nep. Cat. 3, 1; id. Pelop. 1:

parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,

Liv. 6, 1.—

Literary labor, composition:

omnis varietas litterarum mearum,

Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 12:

non nihil temporis tribuit litteris,

Nep. Hann. 13, 2.—

An inscription, Ov. M. 11, 706.—

Learning, the sciences, liberal education, scholarship, letters:

sit mihi orator tinctus litteris: audierit aliquid, legerit,

Cic. de Or. 2, 20, 85:

erant in eo plurimae litterae,

id. Brut. 76, 265:

homo communium litterarum, et politioris humanitatis non expers,

id. de Or. 2, 7, 28:

homo sine ingenio, sine litteris,

id. Verr. 2, 4, 44, § 98:

fuit in illo ingenium, ratio, memoria, litterae, cura, cogitatio, diligentia,

id. Phil. 2, 45, 116:

mihi nihil libri, nihil litterae, nihil doctrina prodest,

id. Att. 9, 10, 2:

litterarum scientia,

id. Brut. 42, 153:

litterarum coguitio,

id. de Or. 3, 32, 127: nescire litteras, to be without a liberal education, id. Brut. 74, 259:

altiores litterae,

magic, Plin. 14, 4, 5, § 51.—Comically of the art of love: Litteras didicisti;

quando scis, sine alios discere,

Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 22.