With plural agreement and (in later use) the: learned, literate, or educated people collectively. Also: †a learned, literate, or educated person (obs…

absol. Chiefly in plural the learned = learned people, the ‘literati’.

A learned person; a scholar; esp. a scientist, a natural philosopher. Also: spec. a member of the Royal Society. Obsolete.

Men or women of letters; the learned class as a whole; (in later use esp.) people interested in literature, or engaged in literary pursuits…

With the and plural agreement. Educated people as a class.

Learned men as a body, scholars.