letter-writer

A professional letter-writer composes a message for a client at a small table.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who writes letters: "letter-writer" refers to an individual who composes and sends letters, either as a regular activity or professionally.
   • A guidebook for composing letters: "letter-writer" can also mean a book or manual that provides instructions, templates, or examples for writing letters.

Usage Examples

• A person who writes letters:

  • She is a prolific letter-writer, corresponding with friends in several countries. (She frequently writes and sends letters.)
  • The elderly gentleman was a skilled letter-writer, known for his elegant prose. (He was adept at composing letters.)

• A guidebook for composing letters:

  • I bought a Victorian letter-writer to learn how to draft formal correspondence. (A book that teaches letter composition.)
  • The old letter-writer contained sample letters for invitations and condolences. (A manual with examples.)

Advanced Usage

• "a letter-writer by trade": someone who writes letters as a profession, such as a secretary or scribe.

  • In the 19th century, a letter-writer by trade would draft letters for illiterate clients. (A professional letter composer.)

• "the letter-writer's art": the skill or craft of writing letters.

  • He mastered the letter-writer's art, making each letter a work of literature. (The craft of letter composition.)

Variants and Related Words

• Letter-writing (n): the activity or skill of composing letters.

  • Letter-writing has declined in the age of email. (The practice of writing letters.)

• Letter-writer (n, hyphenated form): the standard spelling; also seen as "letter writer" (without hyphen).

  • He is a regular letter writer to the editor. (A person who writes letters frequently.)

Synonyms

• Correspondent: a person who writes letters, especially as a regular activity.

  • She was a faithful correspondent, writing weekly. (A regular letter-writer.)

• Epistolary: relating to the writing of letters (often used as an adjective).

  • The novel is written in epistolary form. (Using letters as narrative.)

Related Idioms

• "A letter-writer's block": a humorous term for difficulty in composing letters, analogous to writer's block.

  • I have letter-writer's block; I can't think of what to say. (Difficulty starting or continuing a letter.)

• "To take up the pen": to begin writing letters or correspondence.

  • He took up the pen and became a devoted letter-writer. (He started writing letters regularly.)