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attic

 - 9 dictionary results

at⋅tic

[at-ik]
–noun
1. the part of a building, esp. of a house, directly under a roof; garret.
2. a room or rooms in an attic.
3. a low story or decorative wall above an entablature or the main cornice of a building.
4. Anatomy. the upper part of the tympanic cavity of the ear.

Origin:
1690–1700; special use of Attic

At⋅tic

[at-ik]
–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Greece or of Athens.
2. (often lowercase) displaying simple elegance, incisive intelligence, and delicate wit.
–noun
3. the dialect of ancient Attica that became the standard language of Classical Greek literature in the 5th and 4th centuries b.c.

Origin:
1555–65; < L Atticus < Gk Attikós
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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at·tic   (āt'ĭk)   
n.  
  1. A story or room directly below the roof of a building, especially a house.

  2. A low wall or story above the cornice of a classical façade.


[From Attic story, story of a building enclosed by one decorative structure placed above another, much taller decorative structure, usually involving the Attic order, an architectural order having square columns of any of the basic five orders, from French attique, from attique, Attic, from Latin Atticus; see Attic.]
At·tic   (āt'ĭk)   
adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of ancient Attica, Athens, or the Athenians.

  2. Characterized by purity, simplicity, and elegant wit: Attic prose.

n.  The ancient Greek dialect of Attica, in which the bulk of classical Greek literature is written.

[Latin Atticus, from Greek Attikos, from Attikē, Attica.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
attic

  1. n.
    the head, thought of as the location of one's intellect. : She's just got nothing in the attic. That's what's wrong with her.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

Attic 
1599, "of or pertaining to Attica," from L. Atticus, from Gk. Attikos "of Attica," the region around Athens. Attested from 1563 as an architectural term for a type of column base.

attic 
"top storey under the roof of a house," 1855, shortened from attic storey (1724). The term Attic order in classical architecture meant a small, square decorative column of the type often used in a low storey above a building's main facade, a feature associated with the region around Athens (see Attic). The word then was applied to "a low decorative facade above the main story of a building" (1696), and it came to mean the space enclosed by such a structure. The modern use is via Fr. attique. "An attic is upright, a garret is in a sloping roof" [Weekley].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: at·tic
Pronunciation: 'at-ik
Function: noun
: the small upper space of the middle ear called also epitympanic recess
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

attic at·tic (āt'ĭk)
n.
The upper portion of the tympanic cavity above the tympanic membrane that contains the head of the malleus and the body of the incus. Also called epitympanum.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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