au pied de la lettre

== French == === Etymology === Literally, “on the foot of the letter”. Compare Spanish al pie de la letra, Catalan al peu de la lletra or Portuguese ao pé da letra. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /o pje d(ə) la lɛtʁ/ === Adverb === au pied de la lettre to the letter, literally Synonyms: à la lettre, mot à mot prendre au pied de la lettre ― to take literally