attic

¹

[ at-ik ]

noun

1. the part of a building, especially 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.

Attic

²

[ at-ik ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Greece or of Athens.
2. (often lowercase) displaying simple elegance, incisive intelligence, and delicate wit.

noun

1. the dialect of ancient Attica that became the standard language of Classical Greek literature in the 5th and 4th centuries b.c.

Attic

¹

/ ˈætɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to Attica, its inhabitants, or the dialect of Greek spoken there, esp in classical times
2. often not capital classically elegant, simple, or pure

   an Attic style

noun

1. See Ionic, Doric, Arcadic, Aeolic
   the dialect of Ancient Greek spoken and written in Athens: the chief literary dialect of classical Greek See also Aeolic Arcadic Doric Ionic

attic

²

/ ˈætɪk /

noun

1. a space or room within the roof of a house
2. architect a storey or low wall above the cornice of a classical façade

Other Words From

• non-Attic adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of attic¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; special use of Attic

Origin of attic²

1555–65; < Latin Atticus < Greek Attikós

Word History and Origins

Origin of attic¹

C18: special use of Attic from the use of Attic-style pilasters to adorn the façade of the top storey

Example Sentences

Bertha is the obstacle keeping Jane Eyre from marrying Rochester, and she is the madwoman in the attic whom the trope is named after.

From Vox

I personally had no trouble running Ethernet under the crawl space of my old one-story house, though my current two-story house required some compromises thanks to its slab foundation and lack of attic access for half the house.

From Popular-Science

Stay on top of clutter in your kitchen, pantry, bathroom, attic, and other areas in your home with the GranRosi farmhouse style metal basket pair.

From Popular-Science

It opens with Brumotti, 40, in the attic bedroom of his parents’ home in the seaside region of Liguria, where most citizens, like the rest of the country, are under emergency lockdown.

From Outside Online

A part of this had to do with how Romans and especially their Praetorian Guard was depicted with the stylized Attic helmet variant with engravings and plumes.

From Realm of History

She would periodically show up at the house and stay in the attic, where she hung beads and burned incense.

From The Daily Beast

My bedroom was square and yellow and brand-new; this one was an attic with a gray-blue wall curling into its ceiling.

From The Daily Beast

It might be on a closet shelf or perhaps in the attic, wrapped tightly in thick twine.

From The Daily Beast

It comes out of the drawer, the attic, the trunk of your car with the first tease of spring.

From The Daily Beast

Remember when “the madwoman in the attic” was more than just a metaphor for the female imagination?

From The Daily Beast

The latter went immediately to look for his wife, and found her hidden in an attic, hanging to a beam.

From Project Gutenberg

From the time of Solon the Attic months were lunar, composed alternately of 30 and 29 days.

From Project Gutenberg

At the door of the lodging in the attic she stopped and tapped mysteriously; an old man brought forward a chair for her.

From Project Gutenberg

Chance ruled that Andrea's gaze, idle as it was from her sitting still to have her hair brushed, fell on Rousseau's attic.

From Project Gutenberg

The simplicity of the Attic writers would make Latin composition bald and tame.

From Project Gutenberg