English
literatus
Literatus comes from Latin litterātus ‘learned, educated, scholarly, literate’, and goes back to littera ‘letter’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElittera1‘letter’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElitterātus2as līterātus‘learned, educated, scholarly, literate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1823literatus2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin litteratus
- 2 Wiktionary, English literatus
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1823, Thomas De Quincey, Letters to a Young Man whose Education has been Neglected. L: “Now, we are to consider that our bright ideal…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElitteraWiktionary, Latin litteratus‘letter’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElitterātusWiktionary, English literatusas līterātus‘learned, educated, scholarly, literate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1823literatusWiktionary, English literatus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1823, Thomas De Quincey, Letters to a Young Man whose Education has been Neglected. L: “Now, we are to consider that our bright ideal…”
Linked words
through Latin littera ‘letter’
through Latin litterātus ‘learned, educated, scholarly, literate’
Today it means
noun A learned person; especially one acquainted with literature.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “literatus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for 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 / Latin littera / literatus