lila
noun
creation, seen as the playful activity of a god.
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 Thomson, Basil
Its origin, however, is Sumerian, from /lila/, regarded as meaning "mist."
From The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Pinches, Theophilus Goldridge
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 Thomson, Basil
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 Pinches, Theophilus Goldridge
Riverside Prep 4, Great Oak 3: Lila Morris threw a complete game, and Riverside Prep took advantage of two errors in the fifth inning to win the Division 3 title.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
“There’s a sense of glamour and desolation about Lila that makes me think of Marilyn Monroe,” said the writer Daphne Merkin, who hired Raicek to be her research assistant in 2006.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
In Glenn’s fiction debut, Lila Devlin, once one of the most famous actresses on the planet, returns to Los Angeles 10 years after the kidnapping and death of her daughter, Josie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
Here’s how Holmes would spend an ideal Sunday in L.A. with Chaney and their 7-year-old daughter, Lila.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2026
Lila is Peruvian American and Marisol is Cuban American, and they are literally the best of friends.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
