Illiterate
/ɪˈlɪt.ər.ət/noun
Unable to read or write; also lacking knowledge in a particular subject.
Did you know?Illiterate comes from Latin, where the prefix in- (“not”) was attached to litteratus (“lettered”), and the root behind littera also gave English words like letter and literature.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leit-
“to cut, score, or mark”
Latin
Latin
littera
“a letter of the alphabet; writing”
Latin
Latin
illitteratus
“unlearned; not acquainted with letters”
Old French
OF
illiteré
“unlettered, ignorant of reading and writing”
Middle English
English
illiterate
“unlettered; unable to read”
Modern English
English
illiterate
“unable to read or write; lacking knowledge in a particular field”
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