- [usually before noun]
being the most basic meaning of a word or phrase, rather than an extended or poetic meaning 字面意义的 I am not referring to ‘small’ people in the literal sense of the word. 我指的不是字面意义上的 “小” 人。 The literal meaning of ‘petrify’ is ‘turn to stone’. petrify 的字面意思是 turn to stone（变成石头）。
- [usually before noun]
that follows the original words exactly 完全按原文的 a literal translation 直译
- (disapproving)
not having or showing any imagination 缺乏想象力的
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, or from late Latin litteralis, from Latin littera ‘letter of the alphabet’, (plural) ‘epistle, literature, culture’.