Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LIT'ER-AL, a. [Fr. from L. litera, a letter.]

1. According to the letter; primitive; real; not figurative or metaphorical; as, the literal meaning of a phrase.
2. Following the letter or exact words; not free; as, a literal translation.
3. Consisting of letters. The literal notation of numbers was known to Europeans before the ciphers. – Johnson.