We’ve held on to the French spelling for this word describing a lover of literature, but it can be traced back further to Latin. In Latin, “littera” means “letter of the alphabet,” but in the plural, “litterae” refers to literature or culture in general. It’s an old-fashioned phrase, but to call someone a man of letters meant they were an expert in the arts and literature. If their knowledge was specific to literature, you could call them a littérateur.