Origin: Latin suffix -ary
Literary has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
appropriate to literature rather than everyday speech or writing
"when trying to impress someone she spoke in an affected literary style"
Relating to literature.
"The museum recently acquired a rare collection of handwritten letters from famous literary figures."
In plain English: Literary describes anything related to books, writing, or stories that are considered art.
"Many students choose to write a literary essay for their history class."
Usage: Use literary to describe writing that has artistic value or belongs to the genre of books and stories, rather than casual conversation or technical manuals. Avoid using it simply to mean "bookish" when referring to someone's general habit of reading.
The word literary comes from the Old French term littéraire, which originally described anything related to letters or writing. It entered English during the Middle Ages to specifically denote matters pertaining to literature and books.