# literature

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈlɪt.(ə.)ɹə.t͡ʃə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #2,395

## Definitions
1. The body of all written works.
2. The collected creative writing of a nation, people, group, or culture.
3. All the papers, treatises, etc. published in academic journals on a particular subject.
4. Written fiction of a high standard.
5. Literacy; ability to read and write.

## Etymology
From Middle English literature, from Old French littérature, from Latin literatura or litteratura, from littera (“letter”), from Etruscan, from Ancient Greek διφθέρᾱ (diphthérā, “tablet”). Displaced native Old English bōccræft.

## Easily confused with
- **literate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/literate-vs-literature)

## Common misspellings (14)
`ilterature`, `lietrature`, `litearture`, `literatrue`, `literatture`, `literatuer`, `literaturre`, `literautre`, `literrature`, `litertaure`, `litreature`, `litterature`, `lliterature`, `ltierature`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/literature