The old English or Gothic letter, in which the Early English manuscripts were written, and the first English books were printed. It was conspicuous for its blackness. See Type. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Written or printed in black letter; as, a black-letter manuscript or book. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Given to the study of books in black letter; that is, of old books; out of date. [ 1913 Webster ]

Kemble, a black-letter man! J. Boaden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Of or pertaining to the days in the calendar not marked with red letters as saints' days; -- compare red-letter. Hence: Unlucky; inauspicious. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, lets blood; a phlebotomist. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the characters upon tablets smeared over or covered with wax. Pliny, xiii. 11. See Liniment, and cf. Literal. ] 1. A mark or character used as the representative of a sound, or of an articulation of the human organs of speech; a first element of written language. [ 1913 Webster ]

And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. Luke xxiii. 38. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A written or printed communication; a message expressed in intelligible characters on something adapted to conveyance, as paper, parchment, etc.; an epistle. [ 1913 Webster ]

The style of letters ought to be free, easy, and natural. Walsh. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A writing; an inscription. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

None could expound what this letter meant. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Verbal expression; literal statement or meaning; exact signification or requirement. [ 1913 Webster ]

We must observe the letter of the law, without doing violence to the reason of the law and the intention of the lawgiver. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

I broke the letter of it to keep the sense. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Print.) A single type; type, collectively; a style of type. [ 1913 Webster ]

Under these buildings . . . was the king's printing house, and that famous letter so much esteemed. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. pl. Learning; erudition; as, a man of letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. pl. A letter; an epistle. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Teleg.) A telegram longer than an ordinary message sent at rates lower than the standard message rate in consideration of its being sent and delivered subject to priority in service of regular messages. Such telegrams are called by the Western Union Company day letters, or night letters according to the time of sending, and by The Postal Telegraph Company day lettergrams, or night lettergrams. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Dead letter,
Drop letter, etc. See under Dead, Drop, etc. --
Letter book, a book in which copies of letters are kept. --
Letter box, a box for the reception of letters to be mailed or delivered. --
Letter carrier, a person who carries letters; a postman; specif., an officer of the post office who carries letters to the persons to whom they are addressed, and collects letters to be mailed. --
Letter cutter, one who engraves letters or letter punches. --
Letter lock, a lock that can not be opened when fastened, unless certain movable lettered rings or disks forming a part of it are in such a position (indicated by a particular combination of the letters) as to permit the bolt to be withdrawn. [ 1913 Webster ] A strange lock that opens with AMEN. Beau. & Fl. --
Letter paper, paper for writing letters on; especially, a size of paper intermediate between note paper and foolscap. See Paper. --
Letter punch, a steel punch with a letter engraved on the end, used in making the matrices for type. --
Letters of administration (Law), the instrument by which an administrator or administratrix is authorized to administer the goods and estate of a deceased person. --
Letter of attorney,
Letter of credit, etc. See under Attorney, Credit, etc. --
Letter of license, a paper by which creditors extend a debtor's time for paying his debts. --
Letters close or
Letters clause (Eng. Law.), letters or writs directed to particular persons for particular purposes, and hence closed or sealed on the outside; -- distinguished from letters patent. Burrill. --
Letters of orders (Eccl.), a document duly signed and sealed, by which a bishop makes it known that he has regularly ordained a certain person as priest, deacon, etc. --
Letters patent,
Letters overt, or
Letters open (Eng. Law), a writing executed and sealed, by which power and authority are granted to a person to do some act, or enjoy some right; as, letters patent under the seal of England. The common commercial patent is a derivative form of such a right. --
Letter-sheet envelope, a stamped sheet of letter paper issued by the government, prepared to be folded and sealed for transmission by mail without an envelope. --
Letters testamentary (Law), an instrument granted by the proper officer to an executor after probate of a will, authorizing him to act as executor. --
Letter writer. (a) One who writes letters. (b) A machine for copying letters. (c) A book giving directions and forms for the writing of letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Let to permit. ] One who lets or permits; one who lets anything for hire. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Let to hinder. ] One who retards or hinders. [ Archaic. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Lettered p. pr. & vb. n. Lettering. ] To impress with letters; to mark with letters or words; as, a book gilt and lettered. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A bomb disguised as a letter and sent through the mail, usually rigged to explode and kill or harm the recipient when opened. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. to send a letter-bomb to. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a postcard that folds so that the message is inside. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. 1. Literate; educated; versed in literature. “ Are you not lettered?” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The unlettered barbarians willingly accepted the aid of the lettered clergy, still chiefly of Roman birth, to reduce to writing the institutes of their forefathers. Milman. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of or pertaining to learning or literature; learned. “ A lettered education.” Collier. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Inscribed or stamped with letters. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who makes, inscribes, or engraves, alphabetical letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Letter{ 8 }, above. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. The act or business of making, or marking with, letters, as by cutting or painting. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The letters made; as, the lettering of a sign. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Not having a letter. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Illiterate. [ Obs. ] E. Waterhouse. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Lecturn. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. correct to the last detail; especially being in or following the exact words; as, a letter-perfect rendition of the soliloquy.
Syn. -- word-perfect. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Print; letters and words impressed on paper or other material by types; -- often used of the reading matter in distinction from the illustrations. [ 1913 Webster ]

Letterpress printing, printing directly from type, in distinction from printing from plates. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Letters; literature. [ Obs. ] “To teach him letterure and courtesy.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) The beautiful and highly elastic wood of a tree of the genus Brosimum (Brosimum Aubletii), found in Guiana; -- so called from black spots in it which bear some resemblance to hieroglyphics; also called snakewood, and leopardwood. It is much used for bows and for walking sticks. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A writer, especially one who writes for a living. [ PJC ]

2. A learned person; a scholar. [ PJC ]

n. A circular letter, written or printed for the purpose of disseminating news. This was the name given to the earliest English newspapers.
Syn. -- newssheet. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ }. See Letter, above. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Of or pertaining to a red letter; marked by red letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

Red-letter day, a day that is fortunate or auspicious; -- so called in allusion to the custom of marking holy days, or saints' days, in the old calendars with red letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Mar. Law.) The customary certificate of national character which neutral merchant vessels are bound to carry in time of war; a passport for a vessel and cargo. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A tenant or lessee who grants a lease to another. [ 1913 Webster ]