pre·lit·er·ary
| \ ˌprē-ˈli-tə-ˌrer-ē
\
\
variants:
or pre-literary
Definition of preliterary
: preceding the development of a written literature
preliterary Latin preliterary oral traditions linguistic developments during the preliterary period
Learn More About preliterary
Statistics for preliterary
Look-up Popularity
Cite this Entry
“Preliterary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preliterary. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.
Style: MLA
MLA
Chicago
APA
Merriam-Webster
Chicago
APA
Merriam-Webster
Test Your Vocabulary
The Great British Vocabulary Quiz
-
- Named after Sir Robert Peel, what are British police called?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share preliterary
Time Traveler for preliterary
The first known use of preliterary was in 1876
See more words from the same year