Illiteral

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not involving letters or written symbols, lacking connection to literacy or textual representation
2. Describing something that does not pertain to alphabetic characters or the act of reading and writing
3. Characterizing an absence of relation to language expressed in letters or script

Etymology: "Illiteral" is a plain formation: the prefix "il-", meaning "not", attached to "literal." The "il-" form is the assimilated version of "in-" that English uses before a letter "l," as in "illegal" and "illegible." So the word is simply "not literal," but applied to letters rather than to meaning, describing something that does not involve written characters at all. The base word "literal" comes from Latin "littera," "letter," and originally meant "of or pertaining to letters," which is where the sense of "not involving letters" comes from. Over time "literal" shifted toward meaning "following the exact words," which is why "illiteral" can sound like a contradiction to modern readers who expect it to mean "unable to read." It does not carry that sense.