3 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

literary

adjective

1: of or relating to or characteristic of literature; "literary criticism"

2: knowledgeable about literature; "a literary style" [syn: {well-written}]

3: appropriate to literature rather than everyday speech or writing; "when trying to impress someone she spoke in an affected literary style"

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Literary \Lit"er*a*ry\ (l[i^]t"[~e]r*[asl]*r[y^]), adjective [L. litterarius, literarius, fr. littera, litera, a letter: cf. F. litt['e]raire. See {Letter}.]

1. Of or pertaining to letters or literature; pertaining to learning or learned men; as, literary fame; a literary history; literary conversation.

He has long outlived his century, the term commonly fixed as the test of literary merit. --Johnson.

2. Versed in, or acquainted with, literature; occupied with literature as a profession; connected with literature or with men of letters; as, a literary man.

In the literary as well as fashionable world. --Mason.

{Literary property}. (a) Property which consists in written or printed compositions. (b) The exclusive right of publication as recognized and limited by law.

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

29 Moby Thesaurus words for "literary": academic, belletristic, bibliophagic, bluestocking, book-fed, book-learned, book-loving, book-minded, book-read, book-wise, bookish, booky, classical, cultivated, cultured, donnish, educated, erudite, formal, inkhorn, learned, lettered, literate, pedantic, refined, scholarly, scholastic, well-read, written

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