“I’m so hot, I’m literally melting.” Unless you’re standing next to a talking ice cream cone, that “literally” is actually figurative, and this usage is many grammar sticklers’ biggest pet peeve. But is this version of “literally” incorrect? Not always — and in fact, it’s been around longer than your grade-school English teacher has been teaching that rule.
What Does “Literally” Mean?
Strictly speaking, the word “literally” means “in a literal sense.” When you take something literally, you understand its natural or ordinary meaning. It can also mean the information you receive is precise, exact, accurate, and true.
His brother was speaking literally.
The word “rex” literally means “king.”
Super Bowl LIV was watched by literally millions of people.
The word “literally” has been in use since the 1530s. It comes from the Latin term literalis, meaning “of or belonging to letters or writing.” By the 1590s, the word had come to mean “verbally exact” or “according to the letter of verbal expression.” But over time, the definition of the word shifted.
Can “Literally” Literally Mean the Opposite?
Since at least the late 17th century, “literally” has been used in metaphors and hyperbole. When it’s used in this way, it has a different (non-literal) meaning. This version of “literally” is intended for emphasis, exaggeration, or to express strong feelings.
Her kindness literally blew me away.
This move is literally draining me.
He literally turned the house upside down looking for his lost keys.
You can see from these examples that this version of “literally” is not literally true, and often the situations aren’t even possible. In this definition, “literally” is meant to be taken figuratively.
Most modern dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster, contain opposing definitions for “literally.” This makes it a Janus word — a word that is its own opposite. Other examples include “cleave” (which means both “to split” and “to adhere”) and “oversight” (which means both “supervision” and “omission”).
Some grammar traditionalists don’t recognize the second usage of “literally” and insist the meaning always remains literal. But this isn’t how people use language. When Merriam-Webster updated its definition in 2013, editors explained that they “included this definition for a very simple reason: a lot of people use it this way, and our entries are based on evidence of use.”
It’s Been This Way for Literally Hundreds of Years
Though using “literally” to mean “virtually” may seem like a modern language quirk, it goes back to the 1700s. Many famous writers employed the figurative sense of the word in some of literature’s most notable works:
“There is never a candle lighted in this house, until one’s eyes are literally falling out of one’s head with being stretched to read the paper.” — David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)
“She took me to herself, and proceeded literally to suffocate me with her unrestrained spirits, her girlish, giddy, wild nonsense.” — Villette by Charlotte Brontë (1853)
“The land literally flowed with milk and honey on such occasions.” — Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1869)
“Tom was literally rolling in wealth.” — The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1876)
“[Gatsby] literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room.” — The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
If it’s good enough for Alcott, Dickens, and Twain, it’s good enough for us.
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