Search Result for "literature": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (4)

1. creative writing of recognized artistic value;

2. the humanistic study of a body of literature;
- Example: "he took a course in Russian lit"
[syn: literature, lit]

3. published writings in a particular style on a particular subject;
- Example: "the technical literature"
- Example: "one aspect of Waterloo has not yet been treated in the literature"

4. the profession or art of a writer;
- Example: "her place in literature is secure"


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Literature \Lit"er*a*ture\ (l[i^]t"[~e]r*[.a]*t[-u]r; 135), n. [F. litt['e]rature, L. litteratura, literatura, learning, grammar, writing, fr. littera, litera, letter. See Letter.] 1. Learning; acquaintance with letters or books. [1913 Webster] 2. The collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy preserved in writing; also, the whole body of literary productions or writings upon a given subject, or in reference to a particular science or branch of knowledge, or of a given country or period; as, the literature of Biblical criticism; the literature of chemistry. [1913 Webster] 3. The class of writings distinguished for beauty of style or expression, as poetry, essays, or history, in distinction from scientific treatises and works which contain positive knowledge; belles-lettres. [1913 Webster] 4. The occupation, profession, or business of doing literary work. --Lamb. Syn: Science; learning; erudition; belles-lettres. Usage: See Science. -- Literature, Learning, Erudition. Literature, in its widest sense, embraces all compositions in writing or print which preserve the results of observation, thought, or fancy; but those upon the positive sciences (mathematics, etc.) are usually excluded. It is often confined, however, to belles-lettres, or works of taste and sentiment, as poetry, eloquence, history, etc., excluding abstract discussions and mere erudition. A man of literature (in this narrowest sense) is one who is versed in belles-lettres; a man of learning excels in what is taught in the schools, and has a wide extent of knowledge, especially, in respect to the past; a man of erudition is one who is skilled in the more recondite branches of learned inquiry. [1913 Webster] The origin of all positive science and philosophy, as well as of all literature and art, in the forms in which they exist in civilized Europe, must be traced to the Greeks. --Sir G. C. Lewis. [1913 Webster] Learning thy talent is, but mine is sense. --Prior. [1913 Webster] Some gentlemen, abounding in their university erudition, fill their sermons with philosophical terms. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

literature n 1: creative writing of recognized artistic value 2: the humanistic study of a body of literature; "he took a course in Russian lit" [syn: literature, lit] 3: published writings in a particular style on a particular subject; "the technical literature"; "one aspect of Waterloo has not yet been treated in the literature" 4: the profession or art of a writer; "her place in literature is secure"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

102 Moby Thesaurus words for "literature": French literature, Renaissance literature, ancient literature, article, autograph, belles lettres, belles-lettres, bibliography, body of knowledge, body of learning, brainchild, brochures, circulars, classics, composition, computer printout, contemporary literature, copy, cyclopedia, data, document, draft, edited version, encyclopedia, engrossment, erotic literature, erotica, essay, facts, fair copy, fiction, final draft, finished version, first draft, flimsy, folk literature, holograph, humane letters, information, kitsch, leaflets, letter, letters, literae scriptae, literary artefact, literary production, lore, lucubration, manuscript, materials, matter, medieval literature, national literature, nonfiction, obscene literature, opus, original, pamphlets, paper, parchment, penscript, piece, piece of writing, play, poem, polite literature, pop literature, popular literature, pornographic literature, pornography, printed matter, printout, production, propaganda, pseudonymous literature, publications, publicity, reading matter, recension, republic of letters, scatological literature, screed, scrip, script, scrive, scroll, second draft, serious literature, store of knowledge, system of knowledge, the written word, transcript, transcription, travel literature, treasury of information, typescript, underground literature, version, wisdom literature, work, writing, writings
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

literature The literature. Computer-science journals and other publications, vaguely gestured at to answer a question that the speaker believes is trivial. Thus, one might answer an annoying question by saying "It's in the literature." Oppose Knuth, which has no connotation of triviality. (1994-11-04)