Literal \Lit"er*al\, a. [F. lit['e]ral, litt['e]ral, L.
litteralis, literalis, fr. littera, litera, a letter. See
Letter.]
1. According to the letter or verbal expression; real; not
figurative or metaphorical; as, the literal meaning of a
phrase.
It hath but one simple literal sense whose light the
owls can not abide. --Tyndale.
2. Following the letter or exact words; not free.
A middle course between the rigor of literal
translations and the liberty of paraphrasts.
--Hooker.
3. Consisting of, or expressed by, letters.
The literal notation of numbers was known to
Europeans before the ciphers. --Johnson.
4. Giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative;
matter-of fast; -- applied to persons.
Literal contract (Law), contract of which the whole
evidence is given in writing. --Bouvier.
Literal equation (Math.), an equation in which known
quantities are expressed either wholly or in part by means
of letters; -- distinguished from a numerical equation.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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