littérateur

or lit·te·ra·teur

[lit-er-uh-tur; French lee-tey-ra-tœr]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR littérateur ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural lit·té·ra·teurs [lit-er-uh-turz; French lee-tey-ra-tœr] /ˌlɪt ər əˈtɜrz; French li teɪ raˈtœr/.

a literary person, especially a writer of literary works.

Origin of littérateur

From French, dating back to 1800–10; see origin at literator

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for litterateur

doctor, professor, intellectual, academic, critic, scientist, philosopher, student, teacher, gnome, sage, tool, learner, egghead, bookworm, savant, brain, pupil, augur, grind

Examples from the Web for litterateur

Historical Examples of litterateur

The litterateur in Wagners estimation had no fixed purpose, no ideal.
Wagner as I Knew Him
Ferdinand Christian Wilhelm Praeger
A composer, pianist, and litterateur, who is still living in Poland.
Frederic Chopin, v. 1 (of 2)
Moritz Karasowski
His fame is greater as a dramatist and litterateur than as a poet.
Idling in Italy
Joseph Collins
The Hotel Helicon is a place to delight the artist and the litterateur.
A Fortnight of Folly
Maurice Thompson
But he had been too well educated for an American litterateur.
The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 3, October, 1851
Various

British Dictionary definitions for litterateur

littérateur

noun

an author, esp a professional writer

Word Origin for littérateur

C19: from French from Latin litterātor a grammarian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for litterateur

"a literary man," 1806, from French littérateur, from Latin litterator "a grammarian, philologist," from littera "letter" (see letter (n.1)). Sometimes Englished as literator (1630s, often with a deprecatory sense). Fem. form is littératrice.