man of letters

American  

noun

1. a man engaged in literary pursuits, especially a professional writer.

2. a man of great learning; scholar.

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Etymology

Origin of man of letters

First recorded in 1635–45

Example Sentences

He was Scotland's last freelance man of letters, equally and happily at home between the covers of books and the pages of newspapers, able to turn his hand, it seemed, to any commission.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

“Literature nowadays is a trade,” Milvain insists: Putting aside men of genius, who may succeed by mere cosmic force, your successful man of letters is your skillful tradesman.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Mallon, a distinguished man of letters, moved to Manhattan at 32, holding a PhD from Harvard and a dissertation that became his acclaimed 1984 book, “A Book of One’s Own.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2025

Mr. Epstein could be described as a man of letters with a feel for commerce or as a man of business with a taste for fine literature, and both would be correct.

From New York Times • Feb. 4, 2022

He is an educated English gentleman, very thoroughly a man of letters, who has had the good fortune to add to his treasury of experience by travels in strange places and among strange people.

From The Circus, and Other Essays and Fugitive Pieces by Kilmer, Joyce