the literatiformalAL a small group of people in a society who know a lot about literature 文人学士
Examples from the Corpus
literati• I played with a few of the new titles, with lots of technicalassistance from some computer literati.• He belonged to a family of literati.• Where the transitions were more subtle, as in changing culturalconceptions among the literati, the Jesuits were less successful.• It became a centre for the young, the radical, and the literati of that city.• The Drummond Hotel A favouritehaunt of the literati.• I disagree that all us members of the literati do not suffer from the continuing triumph of the political and economic statusquo.• They soon recognized the humblestatus of these priests and so adopted the more reveredrobes of the literati.• Of the literati in their thrall, Budd Schulberg emerged as the writer who told you most about the bouts.
Originliterati
(1600-1700) Early Italianlitterati, from Latinlitteratus; → LITERATE