Etymology

letter

let·ter
L1E1T1T1E1R1

Today it means: A symbol in an alphabet. Full definition →

Middle English letter ← Old French letre ← Latin littera
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letter · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromlittera“letter of the alphabet"; in plural, "epistle”
  2. Old French · derived fromletre
  3. Middle English · inherited fromletter
  4. English todayletter

From Middle English letter, lettre, from Old French letre, from Latin littera (“letter of the alphabet"; in plural, "epistle”). Displaced Old English bōcstæf (literally “book staff”) in sense 1 and ǣrendġewrit (literally “message writing”) in sense 2.

letter · noun2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromletere
  2. English todayletter

From Middle English letere, equivalent to let + -er.

Words from the same roots

Latinlittera all →

literalliteration

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.