man of letters
3
8.4
- noun
- Literature
:
hombre de letras
- He is a distinguished man of letters, known for his insightful essays on modern literature.
- a man of letters, a writer
- English men of letters
- public man of letters
Examples
-
Leopoldo Lugones (1874-1938) was an Argentine man of letters.
Fiction book (1994) -
In London, where we see him now, he limited himself to the roles of man of letters and dandy.
Academic text (2000) -
The only great American man of letters.
-
History passed from the hands of the poet and man of letters into those of the professor.
Academic text (2000) -
Although he is said to have wanted the Peace Prize, he was always, from early adulthood, a man of letters.
Academic text (2011) -
It could have been quite natural for American and British men of letters to chat, to meet, to correspond.
-
Your Grace, not being a man of letters you perhaps don't realise the extent of his reputation.
-
Last week, the distinguished cultural historian, teacher, and man of letters Jacques Barzun died at the age of 104.
Blog text (13) -
Babur, a man of letters, had also invented his own form of calligraphic writing (khatt-i-baburi).
Academic text (2014) -
The unsuspecting Sunday reader might think he or she is encountering the measured, judicious evaluation of a seasoned man of letters.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A person who creates books, articles, or stories
2
9.9
A man who spends much time studying and knows a lot about literature
1
7.7
A person who writes for a living, for example a journalist or author
A respected writer known for great books or articles
Antonyms
How Literary
Surface Forms
Morphology
The structure 'man of X' signals a person associated with a domain, so combining 'man' + 'of' + 'letters' gives a plausible meaning related to writing or literature. However, the plural 'letters' meaning 'literature' or 'scholarship' is somewhat literary/archaic and may not be known to a B1 learner who only knows 'letter' as a written message, so the sense is only partially predictable without prior exposure (though many languages have a similar construction, which can help some learners).
Etymology
Man of letters may come from an old use of the word letters to mean 'books and written learning', so it showed a man surrounded by papers and books. That's why the phrase now means 'a man devoted to books and learning'.