Citations:literally

"actually, truly"

• 2010 December 22, Ricky Gervais, “Does God Exist? Ricky Gervais Takes Your Questions”, Speakeasy, in Wall Street Journal‎^[1]:

  Saying atheism is a belief system is like saying not going skiing is a hobby. I've never been skiing. It's my biggest hobby. I literally do it all the time.

intensifier; "figuratively"

• 1769: Frances Brooke, The History of Emily Montague. Vol. IV. ccxvii. 83

  He is a fortunate man to be introduced to such a party of fine women at his arrival; it is literally to feed among the lilies.

• 1827: Sir Walter Scott, Chronicles of the Canongate

  The house was literally electrified; and it was only from witnessing the effects of her genius that he could guess to what a pitch theatrical excellence could be carried.

• 1837, Abigail Goodrich Whittelsey and Samuel Whittelsey, The Mother's Magazine, S. Whittelsey

  They both literally slept in Jesus.

• 1847: Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

  Literally, I was (what he often called me) the apple of his eye.

• 1850: Charles Dickens, David Copperfield.

  ...there is never a candle lighted in this house, until one's eyes are literally falling out of one's head with being stretched to read the paper.

• 1993: Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic, p.193

  You literally become the ball in a tennis match, you become the report that you are working on ...

• 2002: Norbert P. Psuty & Douglas D. Ofiara, Costal Hazard Management: lessons and future directions from New Jersey, p.247

  The summer populations of beach communities literally explode, and the local infrastructure (roads, water, sewerage, waste hauling) either wear out or exceed their designed capacities more quickly.

• 2004 Mar 18: Zelgadis, Re: Hello Newsgroup, alt.games.everquest, [2]

  He's just that bad that he was striped of his post count at one point, which caused him to literally explode into tears (hey, he even sent me an IM).

could be either sense

• 1894: Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

  ...at a time when Europe was ringing with his name and when his room was literally ankle-deep with congratulatory telegrams...

• 1895: Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure.

  It was literally teeming, stratified, with the shades of human groups, who had met there for tragedy, comedy, farce...

• 1999 Oct 21: Ridley99, Re: 5 best comic artists ao all time, rec.arts.comics.misc, [3]

  He can literally turn the world upside down with his gift of perspective and vanishing points.