Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A story or room directly below the roof of a building, especially a house.
- n. A low wall or story above the cornice of a classical façade.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to Attica, or to the city or state of Athens; Athenian; marked by such qualities as were characteristic of the Athenians.
- n. A native or an inhabitant of Attica, the territory of the ancient Athenian state, now an eparchy of the kingdom of Greece; an Athenian.
- n. The Attic dialect; Attic Greek.
- n. In architecture, a low story surmounting an entablature or the main cornice of a building. Also called attic story.
- n. A room in the uppermost part of a house, immediately beneath the roof or leads; a garret.
- n. The upper portion of the tympanic cavity of the ear.
- n. Figuratively, a man's ‘top story’; the skull
Wiktionary
- n. The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of or pertaining to Attica, in Greece, or to Athens, its principal city; marked by such qualities as were characteristic of the Athenians; classical; refined.
- n. A low story above the main order or orders of a facade, in the classical styles; -- a term introduced in the 17th century. Hence
- n. A room or rooms behind that part of the exterior; all the rooms immediately below the roof.
- n. An Athenian; an Athenian author.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the dialect of Ancient Greek spoken and written in Attica and Athens and Ionia
- n. informal terms for a human head
- n. floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
- n. (architecture) a low wall at the top of the entablature; hides the roof
- adj. of or relating to Attica or its inhabitants or to the dialect spoken in Athens in classical times
Etymologies
- 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.
Examples
“Dacian captives on the attic (_attic_ = a species of subordinate story added above the main cornice) of this arch were a fortunate addition, furnishing a _raison-d’être_ for the columns and broken entablatures on which they rest.”
A Text-Book of the History of Architecture Seventh Edition, revised
“Her face shone brightly, as if the word attic was “ice cream.””
“On the other hand, a disconnected furnace vent in the attic is a SERIOUS defect that could cause a ridiculous amount of damage over a period of just one heating season.”
“Of the various things you mentioned, the attic is a likely source of heat loss.”
“The twins caught some of our enthusiasm, and they stopped howling and fighting and biting when we mentioned the word attic.”
“Anything that's not packed for college or in the attic is getting thrown out.”
“Some of the heat in your attic is probably infiltrating from the living space below, probably because there are unsealed gaps in the floor and the insulation is inadequate.”
The Washington Post: Do-It-Yourself: Insulating attic's ceilings and walls isn't always practical
“A. Attic ceilings and walls are sometimes insulated, usually with spray foam and often when the attic is to be used for living space.”
The Washington Post: Do-It-Yourself: Insulating attic's ceilings and walls isn't always practical
“I know I am losing heat because the attic is very warm even in cold, cloudy weather.”
The Washington Post: Do-It-Yourself: Insulating attic's ceilings and walls isn't always practical
“The attic is particularly interesting and the fact that both residences have one is truly unique.”
Shell-Wheeler House : A Sustainable Private Residence by Johnston Architects
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘attic’.
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extra room
An add-on to Trivet's list elbow room and Lampbane's list 2BDRM W/VU that tries not to duplicate Trivet's and Lampbane's existing rooms. Virtual, allegorical and proverbial rooms accepted.
scullery, suite, porch, screened porch, breakfast room, atheneum, attic, hall, dressing room, passageway, corridor, fusuma and 126 more...
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head
words for head
noggin, gourd, brain, cranium, melon, skull, upstairs, attic, crown, roof, mind, plosive and 9 more...

reesetee Exactly. Possibly somewhat accurate. ;-) Feb 25, 2009
chained_bear Maybe when people refer to "the ol' attic" meaning their brain...? Still creepy. Feb 24, 2009
reesetee Weirdnet: the head of a human being? Feb 24, 2009