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at·tic (ătĭk)
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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.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
At·tic (ătĭk)
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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, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.