Literati
/ˌlɪt.əˈrɑː.ti/noun
Educated people interested in literature, learning, and the arts.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin *litteratus*, meaning “lettered” or “educated,” and entered English through Italian *letterati*, originally referring to the scholarly class rather than casual readers.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leǵ-
“to gather, collect; to pick out, read”
Latin
Latin
littera
“letter of the alphabet; written character”
Late Latin
Latin
litteratus
“lettered; educated; acquainted with literature”
Italian
Italian
letterati
“the learned; men of letters”
English
English
literati
“the learned class; literary intellectuals”
Explore more surprising origins