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Illiterate
Definitions
- 1 Unable to read and write.
"About half of the population in Ethiopia is illiterate."
- 2 Having less than an expected standard of familiarity with language and literature, or having little formal education.
"Ignorant and ſuperſtitious wretches meaſure the actions of letterd and philoſophical men by the tattle of their nurſes or illiterate parents and companions, or by the faſhion of the country : and people of differing religions judge and condemn each other by their own tenents ; when both of them cannot be in the right, and it is well if either of them are."
- 3 Not conforming to prescribed standards of speech or writing.
"Now (exc. in Nautical language, see b) it is only dialectal or an illiterate substitute for lie, its identity of form with the past tense of the latter no doubt accounting largely for the confusion."
- 4 Ignorant in a specified way or about a specified subject.
"economically illiterate, emotionally illiterate"
- 1 uneducated in the fundamentals of a given art or branch of learning; lacking knowledge of a specific field wordnet
- 2 lacking culture, especially in language and literature wordnet
- 3 not able to read or write wordnet
- 1 An illiterate person, one either not able to read and write or not knowing how.
"We might also provide education plus reading and writing services to adult illiterates."
- 2 a person unable to read wordnet
- 3 A person ignorant about a given subject. (The relevant subject is usually named as a noun adjunct.)
"Their government is run by business illiterates."
Etymology
First attested in 1425–1475, in Middle English; from Middle English illiterat(e) (“uneducated, ignorant of Latin”), borrowed from Latin illīterātus, illitterātus (“unlearned, ignorant”), itself from in- (“un-”) + līterātus, litterātus (“furnished with letters”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from lītera, littera (“letter, character”). The noun was derived from the adjective by substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).
First attested in 1425–1475, in Middle English; from Middle English illiterat(e) (“uneducated, ignorant of Latin”), borrowed from Latin illīterātus, illitterātus (“unlearned, ignorant”), itself from in- (“un-”) + līterātus, litterātus (“furnished with letters”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from lītera, littera (“letter, character”). The noun was derived from the adjective by substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).
See also for "illiterate"
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