letter
letter (lĕtʹər) noun
1. A written symbol or character representing a speech sound and being a component of an alphabet.
2. A written or printed communication directed to a person or an organization.
3. Often letters A certified document granting rights to its bearer.
4. Literal meaning: had to adhere to the letter of the law.
5. letters
(used with a sing. verb ) a. Literary culture; belles-lettres. b. Learning or knowledge, especially of literature. c. Literature or writing as a profession.
6. Printing. a. A piece of type that prints a single character. b. A specific style of type. c. The characters in one style of type.
7. An emblem in the shape of the initial of a school awarded for outstanding performance, especially in varsity athletics.
verb
lettered, lettering, letters
verb, transitive
1. To write letters on.
2. To write in letters.
verb, intransitive
1. To write or form letters.
2. To earn a school letter, as for outstanding athletic achievement: She lettered in three collegiate sports.
idiom.
to the letter
To the last detail; exactly: followed instructions to the letter.
[Middle English, from Old French lettre, from Latin littera, perhaps from Etruscan, from Greek diphthera, hide, leather, writing surface.]
letʹterer noun
Synonyms: letter, epistle, missive, note. The central meaning shared by these nouns is "a written communication directed to another": received a letter of complaint; the Epistles of the New Testament; a missive of condolence; a thank-you note.