literalist

L1I1T1E1R1A1L1I1S1T1

noun

A person who adheres to the literal representation of a statement or law.

OriginEnglish literal ← Middle English literal ← Old French litera →
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Meanings

nounliteralist (plural literalists)

plural literalists

  1. A person who adheres to the literal representation of a statement or law.
  2. A person who translates a text literally.
  3. artOne who works in the style of literalism.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂leyH-
  2. Old Latinleitera
  3. Latinlīterader.?
  4. Proto-Hellenic*dipʰtʰérā?
  5. Ancient Greekδιφθέρᾱ (diphthérā)
  6. Etruscan[Term?]bor.?
  7. Latinlittera
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  10. Late Latinlitterāli
  11. Old Frenchlitera
  12. Middle Englishliteral
  13. Englishliteral
  14. Englishliteralist

From literal + -ist.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

literalist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/literalist

MLA

“literalist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/literalist. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “literalist,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/literalist.

Source: literalist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.