different between literati vs literate

English

Etymology

From the plural of Latin litter?tus (“lettered, literate”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?l?t.?????.ti?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?l?t????ti/

Noun

literati pl (plural only) (singular literatus or literato)

1. Well-educated, literary people; intellectuals who are interested in literature.

Antonyms

• illiterati

Derived terms

Translations

Latin

Adjective

liter?t?

1. nominative masculine plural of liter?tus
2. genitive masculine singular of liter?tus
3. genitive neuter singular of liter?tus
4. vocative masculine plural of liter?tus

English

Etymology

From Latin litteratus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?t???t/

Adjective

literate (comparative more literate, superlative most literate)

1. Able to read and write; having literacy.

   Antonym: illiterate

2. Knowledgeable in literature, writing; literary; well-read.
3. Which is used in writing (of a language or dialect).
   • 2005, Nicholas Ostler, Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World, Harper:

     The Mongol emperor Kublai Khan even commissioned an alphabetic script for his empire, to be used officially for all its literate languages, Mongolian, Chinese, Turkic and Persian.

Derived terms

• computer literate

Related terms

• illiterate
• letter
• literal
• literacy
• literary
• literature

Translations

Noun

literate (plural literates)

1. A person who is able to read and write.
2. (historical) A person who was educated but had not taken a university degree; especially a candidate to take holy orders.

Further reading

• literate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• literate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• laterite, teretial

Latin

Adjective

liter?te

1. vocative masculine singular of liter?tus

References

• literate in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)