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Letter vs Essay - What's the difference?

letter | essay |

As nouns the difference between letter and essay

is that letter is a letter (character) while essay is essay, usually on scientific, cultural or sociological subjects for publication in a newspaper or magazine.

letter

English

(wikipedia letter)

Etymology 1

(etyl) letter, lettre, from (etyl) letre, from (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • A symbol in an alphabet.
  • * Bible, (w) xxiii. 38
    • And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew.
  • A written or printed communication, generally longer and more formal than a note.
  • * (1662-1708)
    • The style of letters ought to be free, easy, and natural.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
    • , chapter=1 citation , passage=He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.}}
  • *
  • *:An indulgent playmate, Grannie would lay aside the long scratchy-looking letter she was writing (heavily crossed ‘to save notepaper’) and enter into the delightful pastime of ‘a chicken from Mr Whiteley's’.
  • Literal meaning.
  • * (Jeremy Taylor) (1613–1677)
    • We must observe the letter of the law, without doing violence to the reason of the law and the intention of the lawgiver.
  • * (1809-1892)
    • I broke the letter of it to keep the sense.
  • * 2009 , 23 February, BBC, Euro MP expenses 'can reach £1m'
    • Some MEPs from some countries may have pocketed £2m more than I have by observing the letter but not the spirit of the rules.
  • (plural) Literature.
  • A size of paper, 8½ in]] × 11 in (215.9 [[millimetre, mm × 279.4 mm, US paper sizes rounded to the nearest 5 mm).
  • A size of paper, 215 mm × 280 mm.
  • A single type; type, collectively; a style of type.
  • * (John Evelyn) (1620-1706)
    • Under these buildingswas the king's printing house, and that famous letter so much esteemed.
    Quotations
    * (English Citations of "letter")
    Synonyms
    * bookstave
    Hyponyms
    * epistle * missive
    Derived terms
    * accountant's letter * advisory letter * air letter * black letter * capital letter * chain letter * comfort letter * commercial letter of credit * cover letter * covering letter * crank letter * day letter * dead letter office * Dear John letter * deficiency letter * domincal letter * drop letter * encyclical letter * fan letter * form letter * four-letter/four-letter word * French letter * guarantee letter * investment letter * irrevocable letter of credit * letter blindness * letter bomb * letter bond * letter box * letter carrier * letter case * letter missive * letter of administration * letter of attorney * letter of comfort * letter of comment * letter of credence * letter of credit * letter of guarantee * letter of indemnity * letter of intent * Letter of Jeremiah * letter of marque * letter of motivation * letter of the law * letter opener * letter paper * letter perfect/letter-perfect * letter-quality * letter security * letter stock * letter telegram * letterform * letterhead * letterman * letterure * love letter * market letter * news letter/news-letter/newsletter * night letter * no-action letter * open letter * night letter * poison-pen letter * red letter * scarlet letter * sea letter * small letter * swash letter * to the letter * transmittal letter * varsity letter
    Related terms
    * literacy * literal * literary * literate * literature

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • to print, inscribe, or paint letters on something.
  • (intransitive, US, scholastic) To earn a varsity letter (award).

    • Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who lets, or lets out.
    • the letter of a room
    a blood-letter
  • (archaic) One who retards or hinders.

    • Statistics

    *

    External links

    * * English terms derived from Etruscan 1000 English basic words ----

    essay

    English

    (wikipedia essay)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-01
    • , author=Katie L. Burke , title=Ecological Dependency , volume=101, issue=1, page=64 , magazine= citation , passage=In his first book since the 2008 essay collection Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature , David Quammen looks at the natural world from yet another angle: the search for the next human pandemic, what epidemiologists call “the next big one.”}}
  • (obsolete) A test, experiment; an assay.
  • An attempt.
  • * 1988 , James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Oxford 2003, p. 455:
    • This was Lee's first essay in the kind of offensive-defensive strategy that was to become his hallmark.

    Derived terms

    * photo essay

    Related terms

    * essayist * essayistic

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (dated) To try.
  • * 1900 , , The House Behind the Cedars , Chapter II,
    • He retraced his steps to the front gate, which he essayed to open.
  • To move forth, as into battle.

    • Anagrams

    *