Kata-kata ''sastera'' dan ''kesusasteraan'' yang terimbuh (dengan kata Jawa kuno ''su'' "indah, baik") mula wujud pada abad ke-20 meminjam dari kata [[bahasa Sanskrit]] {{Lang|sa|शास्त्र}} ''śāstra'' "ajaran, perintah, arahan, petunjuk";.<ref name="KosakataSanskerta">{{cite book|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary|last1=Monier-Williams|first1=Monier|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1981|isbn=|place=Delhi, Varanasi, Patna|pages=1069}} - melalui {{Cite book|title=Kosakata Bahasa Sanskerta dalam Bahasa Melayu Masa Kini|last=Edi Sedyawati dkk.|first=|publisher=Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia|year=1994|isbn=979-459-416-4|location=Jakarta, Indonesia|pages=166}}</ref><ref name="mbms">{{Citebook|url=https://www.mbms.sg/en/-/media/mlc/documents/yang-terukir-ebook-master---23-nov-2015.pdf|title=Yang Terukir: Bahasa dan Persuratan Melayu: Sempena 50 Tahun Kemerdekaan Singapura|last=|first=|publisher=Majlis Bahasa Melayu Singapura & Bizmedia Publishing|others=|year=2015|isbn=978-981-09-6483-2|editor-last=Hadijah Rahmat|location=Stamford Court|pages=70-71|oclc=915156596|editor-last2=Azhar Ibrahim Alwee|editor-last3=Juffri Supa’at|editor-last4=Muhammad Andi Mohammed Zulkepli|editor-last5=Mukhlis Abu Bakar|editor-last6=Mohd Raman Daud|editor-last7=Sa’eda Buang}}</ref> pengungkapanPengungkapan ini dipopularkan dengan tertubuhnya [[Angkatan Sasterawan 50]]., Padapada zaman sebelum meletusnya Perang-Perang Dunia, ungkapan ''persuratan'' imbuhan kata ''[[surat]]'' (yakni bermaksud "[[tulisan]]" atau "apa jua tertulis pada kertas") lebih didapati.<ref name="mbms" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ismail Hussein|year=1968|title=The Study of Traditional Malay Literature|url=https://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/index.php/archive/136-vol-06-no-1-1968|journal=Asian Studies|publisher=Philippine Center for Advanced Studies, University of the Philippines|volume=6|issue=1|pages=66-89|quote=The traditional Malay word for literature was "persuratan"- whatever was placed on paper. It was only after the War that the word "kesusasteraan" -the refined artistic writings- came into use.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite dictionary|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-60272783/view?partId=nla.obj-436256488#page/n270/mode/1up/search/piama|title=surat|dictionary=A Malay-English dictionary (romanised)|last=Wilkinson|first=Richard James|publisher=Salavopoulos & Kinderlis|year=|isbn=|location=Mytilini, Yunani|quote=|date=1932|volume=II|page=505|via=TROVE, Perpustakaan Negara Australia}}</ref>
