attila
/əˈtɪlə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.89 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of the tropical flycatchers of the genus Attila.
Example Sentences
- "In the Magyar costume, his heart beating more proudly under the national attila, he passed before the eyes of the peasants who had known him when a child, and had fought under his orders; and he spoke to them by name, recognizing many of his old companions in these poor people with cheeks tanned by the sun, and heads whitened by age."
- "As I gazed at myself in the looking-glass, I found that I should be a handsome boy when I had put on my silver-buttoned attila."
- "In the scrubby woods that cover most of the Yucatan, suboscines such as the masked tityra, the bright-rumped attila, and the boat-billed flycatcher are all common."
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀττίλα (Attíla), of uncertain further origin. Traditionally thought to have been derived from East Germanic, such as a Gothic *𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰 (*attila, literally “little father”), from 𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌰 (atta, “father”) + -𐌹𐌻𐌰 (-ila). Displaced native Old English Ætla. A more recent explanation by Bonnman-Fries (2025) suggests a Yeniseian origin, specifically an Arinic language. The proper name is explained as deriving from a Common Yeniseian adjective complex *atɨ-λa (“quite swift, quite fast”); see there for more. Compare also Bactrian Χιγγιλο (Khingilo), Brahmi 𑀔𑀺𑀗𑁆𑀕𑀺𑀮 (Khiṇgila), the name of a leader of the Alchon Huns, which could prove that the diminutive -ila is of Hunnic origin.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, *𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈtɪlə/