See also:

• LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from See also:

• LAT

Lat. littera or litera, letter of the See also:

• ALPHABET (see also WRITING)

alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the See also:

• ROOT (late O.E. rot, adopted from Scand., cf. Norw. and Swed. rot, Dan. rod; the true O.E. word was wyrt, plant, represented in Ger. Wurz or Wurzel; the ultimate root is the same in both words, and is seen in Lat. radix)
• ROOT, ELIHU (1845– )

root of linere, to smear, i.e. with See also:

• WAX

wax, for an inscription with a stilus)  , a See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character or See also:

• SYMBOL (Gr. o-uµ(3oXov, a sign)

symbol expressing any one of the elementary sounds into which a spoken word may be analysed, one of the members of an See also:

• ALPHABET (see also WRITING)

alphabet . As applied to things written, the word follows mainly the meanings. of the Latin plural litterae, the most See also:

• COMMON

common meaning attaching to the word being that of a written communication from one See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person to another, an See also:

• EPISTLE

epistle (q.v.) . For the means adopted to secure the transmission of letters see See also:

• POST

POST AND POSTAL SERVICE . The word is also, particularly in the plural, applied to many legal and formal written documents, as in letters patent, letters rogatory and dismissory, &c . The Latin use of the plural is also followed in the employment of "letters" in the sense of literature (q.v.) or learning .