[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/letter/) [dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [L](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/l/) / letter # letter noun (letter, letters); verb (letter, letters, lettered — rare) «letter» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova. ## Everyday 1. A letter is one of the signs we use to write words, like A, b or Z. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#m1) 2. A letter is a written message you send to someone, usually in an envelope by post. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#m2) 3. In maths, a letter like x or n can stand for an unknown number. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#m3) 4. «To the letter» means exactly as told. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#m4) ### In the lessons In school, letters are counted in words and spelling lists; capital and small letters; vowels and consonants. In maths, letters stand for unknown numbers (n, x), and letters are things counted when delivered. In everyday life: writing letters, a letter from school to parents, a letter to Santa. Phrases: «capital letter», «letter box», «to the letter». ### Examples - The word «apple» has 5 letters. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x1) - The mailman delivers 120 letters a day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x2) - She wrote 3 letters to her friends. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x3) - Let the letter n stand for the number of apples. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x4) - Start every sentence with a capital letter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x5) - The English alphabet has 26 letters. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x6) - The school sent a letter home about the trip. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x7) - He posted a letter to his grandma in Ireland. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x8) - She followed the recipe to the letter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x9) - What a tour that letter had made! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/#x10) ### Note Countable. Vowel letters are a, e, i, o, u; the others are consonants. A letter is a sign; a sound is what we hear, and they do not always match (the «k» in «knee» is silent). The English alphabet has 26 letters. Maths: counted things or a name for an unknown. Trap: a stamp per letter means letters × price of a stamp. ## In Jewish tradition In Sefer Yetzirah the letters mean the twenty-two Hebrew letters, the building blocks of the world. In the Prophets and Writings a letter is also a written message sent from one person to another. **Interpretation.** Sefer Yetzirah teaches that God made the world with the twenty-two letters, divided into three mothers, seven doubles and twelve simples. The letters sent by kings, officials and enemies in Ezra, Nehemiah and Jeremiah are ordinary messages. ### Examples - The twenty-two letters which form the stamina (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/letter/#x1) - These letters are the initials of the 12 Zodiacal (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/letter/#x2) - == Chapter 2 == \[2:1\] There are twenty-two letters, stamina. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/letter/#x3) - And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear. (Writings NEH.6.19, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/letter/#x4) - the letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. (Writings EZR.4.18, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/letter/#x5) - And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. (Prophets JER.29.29, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/letter/#x6) ### Note Countable. Vowel letters are a, e, i, o, u; the others are consonants. A letter is a sign; a sound is what we hear, and they do not always match (the «k» in «knee» is silent). The English alphabet has 26 letters. Maths: counted things or a name for an unknown. Trap: a stamp per letter means letters × price of a stamp. ## On Mova - [Trees and pragmatics of «letter» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/letter/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames. - [«letter» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/letter.html) on Mova free. - [Trees and pragmatics of «letter» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/L/letter/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames. - [«letter» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/letter.html) on Mova free.