English
literate
Literate comes from Latin lītterātus ‘learned, educated, scholarly, literate’, from littera ‘letter’, and perhaps ultimately from Old Latin leitera.
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEleitera1uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElittera2‘letter’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElītterātus3‘learned, educated, scholarly, literate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500litterate3
- Englishearliest quotation 1997literate3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin littera, which cites Ernout, Meillet
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin litteratus
- 3 Wiktionary, English literate
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings: “Intelligence tests are biased toward the literate.”.
Lineage
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEleiteraWiktionary, Latin littera, which cites Ernout, Meilletuncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElitteraWiktionary, Latin litteratus‘letter’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElītterātusWiktionary, English literate‘learned, educated, scholarly, literate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500litterateWiktionary, English literate
- Englishearliest quotation 1997literateWiktionary, English literate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings: “Intelligence tests are biased toward the literate.”
Linked words
through Latin littera ‘letter’
Today it means
adj Able to read and write; having literacy.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “literate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin littera, Latin litteratus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Old Latin leitera / literate