Meaning

noun a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind

adjective being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; ; - G.K.Chesterton

adjective without interpretation or embellishment

originEtymology tree Late Latin littera Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Late Latin -ālis Late Latin litterālisbor. Old French literalbor. Middle English literal English literal From Middle English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis or literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera or litera (“a letter”). See letter.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0