What is the Latin word for literary?

The usual Latin words for “literary” are litterātus, littera. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“literary” in Latin

litterātuslearned, educated, scholarly, literate; cultured, erudite litteraletter (of the alphabet); handwriting; letter, epistle

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

literary

litteratus; or, by the genitive, litterarum; e.g., litterarum monumenta: a litterary journal, *commentarii litterarii.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for literary?: The usual Latin words for “literary” are litterātus, littera. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.