英和和英

別の表記

• lit. (abbreviation)
• litteral (obsolete)

語源

From 中期英語 literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis or literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera or litera (“a letter”). See letter.

発音

• IPA: /ˈlɪt(ə)ɹəl/
• Homophone: littoral

形容詞

literal (comparative more literal, superlative most literal)

1. Exactly as stated; read or understood without interpretation; according to the letter; not figurative or metaphorical; following the letter or exact words; not taking liberties; etymonic rather than idiomatic.

   Synonyms: verbatim, word-for-word

   The literal translation of Spanish irse al otro barrio is "to go to the other neighbourhood" but it means "to die".

   A literal reading of the law would prohibit it, but that is clearly not the intent.

   • [1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     a middle course between the rigour of literal translations and the liberty of paraphrasts

   • 1989, “Preface to the New Revised Standard Version”, in Bible Research:

     Within the constraints set by the original texts and by the mandates of the Division, the Committee has followed the maxim, 'As literal as possible, as free as necessary.' As a consequence, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) remains essentially a literal translation.

2. Actual, real, physical.
   • 2017 January 12, Jesse Hassenger, “A literal monster truck is far from the stupidest thing about Monster Trucks”, in The Onion AV Club:

     Mechanically, operating this hybrid vehicle is sort of a cross between driving a car and taming an animal, which means the movie treats the audience to the sight of a man (pretending to be a teenager) driving a literal monster truck in a field next to a woman (also pretending to be a teenager) riding a horse.

3. (hermeneutics)
   1. (loosely) That which generally assumes that the plainest reading of a given text is correct but which allows for metaphor where context indicates it.
   2. (theology, specifically) Following the historical-grammatical method of biblical interpretation.
      • 1998, Kevin Vanhoozer, “6. Redeeming the Text: The Rationality of Literary Acts”, in Is There a Meaning in This Text?, page 311:

        It is most important to distinguish literalistic from literal interpretation. [...] ‘Literalistic’ interpretation is like word-for-word translation that yields the verbally exact or ‘formally equivalent’ versions but also runs the risk of overlooking the main (illocutionary) point. Literal interpretation, on the other hand, is more like a translation that strives for dynamic equivalence and yields the literary sense.

4. (uncommon) Consisting of, or expressed by, letters (of an alphabet); using literation.

   a literal equation

5. (of a person) Unimaginative; matter-of-fact; literal-minded.
6. (proscribed) Used nonliterally as an intensifier. See literally for usage notes.

   Telemarketers are the literal worst.

7. Misspelling of littoral.

反意語

• (antonym(s) of “exactly as stated”): figurative, free, metaphorical, nonliteral, illiteral

下位語

• hyperliteral, overliteral

派生語

関連する語

• letter
• literacy
• literary
• literate
• literature

名詞

literal (plural literals)

1. (epigraphy, typography) A misprint (or occasionally a scribal error) that affects a letter.

   Synonym: typo

2. (programming) A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.

   Synonym: literal constant

3. (logic) A propositional variable, or the negation of a propositional variable.
4. Misspelling of littoral.

参考

• constant
• prime formula

参照

Further reading

• “literal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “literal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

アナグラム

• tallier