lila
noun
creation, seen as the playful activity of a god.
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lila
1 American
[lee-lah]
/ ˈli lɑ /
noun
Hinduism.
Lila
2
American
[lahy-luh]
/ ˈlaɪ lə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of lila
First recorded in 1820–30, lila is from the Sanskrit word līlā play, sport, diversion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Sanskrit title derives from two words: turanga, meaning flowing time, movement or rhythm; and lila, or love, sport, the play of the gods.
From Time Magazine Archive
Now, as I have already said, the great chief of Mbau, Mbanuve, died of the lila, and was thereafter known as Mbale-i-vavalangi—the victim of the foreign disease.
From The Fijians A Study of the Decay of Custom by Basil Thomson
It is not certain that this was the only visitation of the epidemic called lila.
From The Fijians A Study of the Decay of Custom by Basil Thomson
Its origin, however, is Sumerian, from /lila/, regarded as meaning "mist."
From The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Theophilus Goldridge Pinches
The /lilu/, in Sumerian /lila/, is generally regarded as "the night-monster," the word being referred to the Semitic root /lîl/ or /layl/, whence the Hebrew /layil/, Arabic /layl/, "night."
From The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Theophilus Goldridge Pinches
One of the main problems the Cookstown family experienced was taking Lila out in the car, which had a huge impact on family life and their ability to attend hospital appointments.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Her mother said this was "denied" to Lila "due to her age, not clinical need".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The novel follows Lila Dixon, an acerbic, cynical baseball scout living a dreary and closed-off life in her 30s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
For Christina Lila Wilson, 39, who spent her summers in West L.A. with Iranian relatives until she moved as a teenager, the U.S. treatment of the team is antithetical to her cultural values.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
He picked up Lila Goodchild, cradling her in her opaque bag like a sleeping child, and placed her carefully on the table in the chilly mortuary, as if he were afraid to wake her.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
