attractionn.
/əˈtrakʃn/, U.S. /əˈtrækʃən/ 1. Medicine. The action of attracting, or the ability to attract, venom, blood, humours, etc.; an instance of this. Also (concrete): †an agent that performs this function (obsolete). Cf. attract v. 1a. Now historical and rare.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatments removing or dispersing matter > [noun] > dispersing, etc., of humours or morbid matter
resolvinga1398
attractiona1400
resolutiona1400
repercussion?a1425
eduction?c1425
discussion1583
repulsion1583
epicrasis1592
derivation1600
expurgation1615
attractation1616
incision1626
diversion1656
dispersion1753
the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > equipment for treating wound or ulcer > [noun] > poultice, plaster, or compress
plasterOE
clydec1325
emplastera1382
entretea1400
pottagea1400
poulticea1400
faldellac1400
treatc1400
Gratia Dei?a1425
magdaleon?a1425
strictorya1425
grace of Godc1450
emplastrum?1541
malagma?1541
sparadrap1543
spasmadrap?a1547
plasture?1550
mustard plaster1562
cataplasm1563
oint-plaster1578
quilt1583
compress1599
compression1599
diachylum-plaster1599
pulment1599
pulvinar1599
frontlet1600
sinapism1601
epithemation1615
diapalma1646
opodeldoc1646
attraction1656
treacle plaster1659
melilot emplaster1676
stay1676
oxycroceum1696
melilot plaster1712
adhesive1753
bag1753
mustard poultice1765
soap plaster1789
water dressing1830
poor man's plaster1833
compressor1851
spongiopiline1851
vinegar-poultice1854
water-strapping1854
pitch-plaster1858
jacket poultice1862
mustard leaf1869
mustard paper1874
piline1874
plaster-mull1890
mustard cloth1897
plaster-muslin1899
antiphlogistin1901
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 136 (MED) Þilke blood is not viscat in þe substaunce of dure matris..wherfore he is more obeisschaunt to þe attraccioun of medicyns.
c1475 tr. Henri de Mondeville Surgery (Wellcome) f. 156 (MED) Alle manere of medicyns þat schal be putt to woundis of senewis & oþere siche schal be..of greet attraccioun & not opilatiue, i. stopping.
1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. d.iij The cause of this motion agitatiue is attraction to diuers partis: for by bloud lettyng attraction is caused to the place yt is let blud.
1580 T. Newton Approoued Med. f. 88 Pigeons dounge is good..vniuersally in all passions, where neede is of greate Attraction to the vtter parts.
1633 J. Hart Κλινικη iii. ix. 264 Againe, we are to consider the nobility, consent, and the vicinity of the parts in the application and use of this remedy [sc. scarification]; and therefore not to bee applied to any principall part, lest there follow an attraction of bad humors thereunto.
1656 J. Smith Compl. Pract. Physick 14 Attractions must be applyed, as Pigeon's dung, Sope.
1763 A. Sutherland Med. Ess. Small Pox 17 It [sc. plaster] may be composed of melilot, basilicon, &c. according to the degree of heat or attraction required.
1838 Eclectic Jrnl. Med. 2 402 Angelus Saler..gave a formula for what he terms his magnes arsenicales, which he asserts will not only defend the body from the influence of poison, but will, from its powers of attraction, draw out the venom from an infected person.
1979 J. J. Bylebyl William Harvey & his Age 70 Later in De motu cordis Harvey repeatedly uses the term ‘attraction’ to describe these same phenomena, while at the same time asserting that their actual cause is the propulsive power of the heart, and not true attraction.
2. The action (by a part of the body, a plant, etc.) of taking in liquids or nutrients; absorption. Cf. attract v. 4a. Now historical and rare.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > absorption or assimilation (of a substance, etc.) > [noun]
attraction?a1425
likening?a1425
assimilation1626
insumption1676
absorption1737
intussusception1765
introsusception1816
inceptiona1849
uptake1931
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Hunterian) f. 38 (MED) Þe profite of alle þes maner fatnesse..is þat þe members þat be lapped in hem mowe be strengheþ bi hem boþe in attraccioun and retencioun.
?1537 T. Elyot Castell of Helthe ii. xxxi. f. 47v Augmentation of heate, wherby hapneth the more attraction of thynges to be dygested.
1585 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI Treasury of Health (new ed.) sig. N ij Debylitie of attraction in ye milte.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. i. ii. v. 30 Attraction is a ministring facultie, which as a Lodestone doth Iron, drawes meat into the stomacke, or as a lampe drawes oyle.
1658 tr. D. Sennert Nine Bks. Physick & Chirurg. i. ix. 16 The Attractive, Retentive, and Expulsive faculties perform their actions principally by the benefit of the fibers. Attraction is made by the right fibers placed along the length of a member.
1763 J. Wheeler Botanist's & Gardener's New Dict. 400/1 And this imbibing power of the stock is so great, where only some of the branches of the stock will, by their strong attraction, starve those grafts.
1951 Isis 42 37 There is not only an active pumping of blood into the organs, but also attraction by them comparable to that of water into plants.
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the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > inhalation > [noun]
inbreathing1382
draught1490
attraction1528
inspiring1528
inspiration1564
inhalation1623
inhaling1820
insufflation1823
inhalement1840
inhaustion1854
inbreath1921
1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. I.iv The attemperance of natural heate is caused by drawyng of the aier, and his purgynge is caused by expulsynge of the aier. The fyrste is done by motion of the attraction, & the seconde by motion of expulsion.
1621 T. Venner Briefe Treat. Tobacco sig. C4 Not sucking it into your wind-pipe and throate with a sodaine or strong attraction.
1632 Guillim's Display of Heraldrie (ed. 2) iii. xxii. 236 It behooueth they should haue both Attraction and Respiration.
4.
a. The phenomenon whereby a magnet attracts objects made of or containing ferromagnetic materials resulting from the action of its magnetic field; (in later use also) the phenomenon whereby a magnet attracts materials through which an electrical current is being passed; magnetism; a magnetic force.Also more fully magnetic attraction.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > magnetism > [noun] > attraction
attraction?1575
?1575 R. Eden tr. J. Taisnier Bk. Nauigation sig. (***)6v I haue often prooued the vertue and power of the stone Magnes, by the needle whiche is in some Dialles, by the attraction thereof, moouyng it selfe from syde to syde, and rounde about.
1581 R. Norman Newe Attractiue 7 Which poinct..hath power by Attraction, to drawe Iron to it, that is touched with the Lodestone.
1613 M. Ridley Short Treat. Magneticall Bodies vi. 20 The attraction and apprehension at the Poles, is more strong then it is in other paralell place of the stone.
1665 J. Glanvill Sciri Tuum: Authors Defense 14 in Scepsis Scientifica To solve the motion of the Sea, and Magnetick Attractions.
1733 B. Langrish New Ess. Muscular Motion 28 The Strength of the Attraction and Repulsion, whilst the Magnet was whole, proceeded from the Share which every individual Corpuscle contributed towards it.
1770 Weekly Mag. 8 Nov. 173 Heat diminishes all attractions besides mechanical, as the attraction of magnetism, of chymistry, of electricity, &c.
1823 Investigator Apr. 275 M. de la Rive described two apparatuses; one intended to shew the attraction of an electrical current by a magnet.
1881 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 9 June 9/7 The magnetic attraction created between the poles of the electro-magnets and the currents traversing the armature would cause the latter to rotate.
1928 Pop. Sci. Oct. 43/1 The dynamic speaker unit also operates by electromagnetic attraction.
1976 Financial Times 5 Oct. 10/5 The lock has 36 magnetic tumblers..which are made free to move in a certain pattern by the presence of the programme card, using attraction/repulsion of poles.
2012 S. Blundell Magnetism: Very Short Introd. 4 Lucretius' explanation of magnetic attraction is completely wrong, but..demonstrates serious and thoughtful engagement with this phenomenon.
b. figurative and in figurative contexts. Cf. sense 6.
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1588 E. Aggas tr. F. de La Noue Politicke & Mil. Disc. xxiii. 306 Himselfe yeerely in France only transformeth and multiplieth fortie pound of lead, which may be worth two crownes, into 40000 pounds of golde which may be worth 600000. crownes, and then maketh attraction [Fr. vne attraction] thereof euen to Roome.
1601 T. Diggs Petition to Queene in Humble Motives to maintaine Relig. 2 Vertue..hath that meruelous and magneticall attraction, that it draweth vnto it the hartes and mindes of infinite people.
1658 T. Bancroft Time's out of Tune iii. 20 Where by strange attraction of your eyes, You shew'd how beauties force doth magnetize.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 160. ⁋5 Many natures..seem to start back from each other by some invincible repulsion. There are others which immediately cohere whenever they come into the reach of mutual attraction.
1774 T. Pownall Admin. Brit. Colonies (ed. 5) II. 84 If our Colonies by any new-excited property of attraction amongst themselves, are drawing together in an American Union..we should know that the application of force will the more encrease its power.
1861 H. B. Stowe Pearl of Orr's Island (1862) xx. 211 There was no resisting the magnetic attraction with which in his amiable moods he drew those whom he liked to himself.
1876 P. G. Hamerton Intellect. Life ix. v. 323 The subtle, but powerful attraction of the greater mind over the less.
1942 Thomist 1 Jan. 271 The theory exerts a powerful attraction upon those scientists who have again taken up contact with the Scholastic tradition.
2007 R. A. Clouser in Goethe Yearbk. 14 182 He thinks he neutralizes the power of her attraction over him by covertly insulting her, but instead he reveals his own weakness.
c. The phenomenon whereby an electrically charged object attracts objects having an opposite charge; the electrostatic force responsible for this phenomenon. In early use: spec. this phenomenon as exhibited by the minerals jet and amber.Also more fully electric attraction, electrical attraction, electrostatic attraction.
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1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1022 The attraction [Fr. attraction] that amber maketh.
1732 Philos. Trans. 1731–2 (Royal Soc.) 37 285 Whether there might not be a Way found to make this Property of Electrical Attraction more permanent in Bodies?
1769 J. Priestley Hist. & Present State Electr. (ed. 2) iii. ii. 437 The attraction of light bodies to negative electrics cannot be owing to the repulsive power of the electric fluid in the neighbouring air.
1826 Westmorland Gaz. 4 Feb. 1/3 Uncertainty was..removed, by observing the effect on the hair of one of the party, which exhibited the beautiful phenomena of electrical attraction and repulsion.
1884 Telegraphic Jrnl. & Electr. Rev. 18 Oct. 300/1 It is proved that electric attraction and repulsion varies inversely as the square of the distance.
1908 Electrician 291/2 Gilbert was the first systematically to explore the differences that exist between the magnetic attraction of iron and the electric attraction of all light substances.
1954 A. J. Berry From Classical to Mod. Chem. iii. 47 The electric forces of attraction and repulsion can be observed through a vacuum.
2006 New Castle (Pa.) News 20 Nov. b1 The really large ones [sc. snowflakes]..are probably a conglomeration of two or more smaller flakes which have collided, or been pulled together by electrostatic attraction.
d. More generally: any phenomenon whereby an object or substance attracts something towards it without the need for physical contact between them to occur; the force responsible for such a phenomenon.
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the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement towards a thing, person, or position > [noun] > drawing towards itself or attraction
attracting?a1425
attraction1626
solicitation1626
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > [noun] > electricity generated by friction > effect of
attraction1626
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §704 Similitude of Substance will cause Attraction, where the Body is wholy freed from the Motion of Gravity.
1658 R. White tr. K. Digby Late Disc. Cure Wounds 54 There is another sort of attraction which is called magnetical, whereby the loadstone draws the iron. Another electrick, when the Jett-stone draws unto it straws.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature v. 79 Attraction, according to the true sense of the word, supposes one body to act upon another at a distance, or where it is not.
1747 B. Martin Philosophia Britannica I. i. 14 Naturalists generally reckon Four different Sorts of Attraction.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 164 A peculiar species of attraction, exerted by bodies called magnets or loadstones, receives the appellation of magnetism.
1860 J. H. Pepper Boy's Playbk. Sci. (ed. 2) vi. 59 In previous chapters one kind of attraction—viz., that of gravitation, has been discussed and illustrated.
1913 C. S. Page New Philos. vii. 350 There is one thing that must exist wherever variously moving masses of matter are found, and that is some form of attraction.
1987 New Scientist 15 Oct. 48/1 It [sc. gravitational attraction] is the same kind of attraction that keeps the planets in orbit around the sun.
2011 T. Grissom Physicist's World xi. 118 The motion of the planet is continuously bent toward the sun by a force of attraction between the two bodies.
e. The phenomenon whereby any object possessing mass attracts another as a result of the action of its gravitational field; gravitational force.Also more fully attraction of gravity, attraction of the earth, gravitational attraction, etc.
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the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > attractive
gravitation1646
attraction1653
1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies 21 The Attraction of the Earth.
1675 I. Newton Let. 7 Dec. in Corr. (1959) I. 365 So may the gravitating attraction of the Earth be caused by the continuall condensation of some other such like æthereall Spirit.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Attraction of Gravity..is one of the greatest and most universal Principles in all Nature.
1790 D. Rittenhouse Let. 21 June in T. Jefferson Papers (1961) XVI. 546 The Unequal attractions of the Sun and Moon are sufficient to produce a sort of libratory motion in the Earth's Axis.
1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic II. iii. xiv. §2 Brought under the one law of the mutual attraction of all particles of matter.
1865 Fortn. Rev. 1 Dec. 133 With gravity there is no selection; no particular atoms choose, by preference, other particular atoms as objects of attraction.
1931 N. Schachner & A. L. Zagat in Wonder Stories Aug. 307/1 Were it not for these [gravity coils] the Martians would have been rising a hundred feet with each step, so small was the asteroid's attraction.
1967 Times 14 Dec. 4/6 A mass of dust is contracting under the influence of the gravitational attraction of one part for another.
2005 M. Lockwood Labyrinth of Time (2007) iv. 75 Gravitational attraction, according to the theory, is merely a manifestation of space-time curvature.
f. The tendency of two given substances to form a compound or solution; = affinity n. 8.Also more fully chemical attraction.elective attraction: see the first element.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical bonding > [noun] > chemical attraction
attraction1664
affinity1753
elective attraction1767
vital affinity1850
1664 P. D. C. tr. N. Le Fèvre Compend. Body Chymistry II. ii. i. 102 Inclose it in Glassen Vessels well stopt, to hinder their [sc. salt crystals] melting, by the attraction [Fr. l'attraction] of the moisture of the Air.
1770 Weekly Mag. 8 Nov. 173 Heat diminishes all attractions besides mechanical, as the attraction of magnetism, of chymistry, of electricity, &c.
1790 W. Nicholson First Princ. Chem. vii. (title) On the Attractions exerted between Bodies, particularly those which the Chemists call Elective Attractions.
1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. ii. 31 Chemical attraction, the power by which different species of matter tend to unite into one compound.
1914 F. W. Miller Fund. Physics, Chem. & Bacteriol. in Agric. ii. 24 When the attraction between the elements is strong, the compound is hard to break up.
1958 North Wales Chron. 15 Apr. 2/5 Water could be decomposed and separated into its elements by electricity, heat, and chemical attraction.
1965 Winnipeg Free Press 8 June 10/1 The body's iron performs a number of duties... Most of these chores depend upon a natural attraction between iron and oxygen.
2006 J. M. Hornback Org. Chem. (Internat. Student ed.) i. 5 In general, covalent compounds have strong bonds between the atoms of the molecule itself but only weak attractions for other molecules.
g. The phenomenon whereby molecules of a substance or substances are attracted toward one another; the intermolecular forces responsible for this phenomenon.Also more fully molecular attraction, corpuscular attraction, attraction of cohesion, attraction of adhesion, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical bonding > [noun] > molecular attraction
attraction1709
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement towards a thing, person, or position > [noun] > drawing towards itself or attraction > other types
attraction1709
capillary attraction1751
1709 Philos. Trans. 1708–09 (Royal Soc.) 26 261 As the inward Surfaces of the Tubes are made smaller and smaller, so the Power of their Attraction..is greater and greater.
1788 T. Reid Ess. Active Powers Man i. vi The powers of corpuscular attraction, magnetism, electricity, gravitation.
1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. ii. 31 Attraction of cohesion..enables fluids to rise in capillary tubes..hence it is sometimes called capillary attraction.
1860 M. Faraday Course Six Lect. Forces Matter iii. 62 This same body in the northern regions is all solid ice and icebergs, while here, in a warmer climate, it has its attraction of cohesion so much diminished as to be liquid water.
1912 Science 19 July 92/2 Mills..concluded that the attraction of molecules must also follow the gravitational law and vary inversely as the square of the distance.
1958 Michigan Technic Feb. 28/2 Specific adhesion is the adhesion which results from the attraction of the adhesive's molecules for the molecules of the metals.
2003 R. Myers Basics Chem. viii. 86 Solids and liquids have relatively strong intermolecular attraction compared to gases.
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the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > [noun] > pulling
drawingc1300
draughta1398
pullinga1425
draggingc1440
halingc1440
lugging?a1500
attraction1578
toilingc1600
trainage1611
hale1615
traction1615
hauling1626
trail1674
tracting1780
haulage1826
pull1833
drawal1936
1578 J. Banister Hist. Man ii. f. 38v Neither do they [sc. Cartilages]..be extended by Attraction, as doe the Ligamentes.
6. (Cf. sense 4b.)
a. The action or quality of attracting living beings by influencing their behaviour; power to influence or to elicit a response; (also) the fact of being so attracted or influenced. Also: an instance of these.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > attraction, allurement, or enticement > [noun]
tightingc1000
tolling?c1225
ticement1303
enticinga1340
ticinga1400
atticement1483
allure1534
luring1547
enticement1549
allurement1561
allurance1574
alluring1579
illurement1582
attraction1591
lurement1592
till1596
invitation1602
tract1620
illecebration1624
prolectation1625
invitement1627
inescation1645
inveiglement1653
allectation1656
tracture1658
solicitation1676
drumming1833
come-hither1835
chemistry1898
come-hitherness1918
1591 Declar. Great Troubles against Realme (new ed.) 3 For the more forcible attraction of these vnnaturall people (being weake of vnderstanding) to this their bend, these Seedemen of treason bring certaine Bulles from the Pope.
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes IV. ix. vi. 1743 What hath a more adamantiue power to draw vnto it the consent and attraction of the idle, vntoward, and wretched number of the many, then liberty, and fulnesse of sensuality?
1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 75 And all the Nations summon'd to the Throne..None need a guide, by sure Attraction led.
1820 Brit. Critic Mar. 267 The army was demoralized—the stimulus of promotion had lost its attraction.
1864 C. Knight Passages Working Life II. i. 17 The business-house of a young publisher had..the sort of attraction for flights of authors as a saltcat has for pigeons.
1906 Jrnl. Royal United Service Inst. Apr. 509 The attraction of every possible man to the colours for such service as he is willing and able to give.
1971 Nature 17 Dec. 415/2 Male attraction to females of the same species is inhibited by a pheromone emitted from females of a closely related species.
2005 S. Shabad tr. in V. P. Danilov et al. War against Peasantry 262 One can see a mass attraction to the party on the part of collective farmers and middle peasants.
b. The action or power of evoking a person's interest, admiration, affection, or sympathy; the action or power of arousing romantic or sexual desires; pleasingness, attractiveness; (also) an instance of this.creature attraction: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > [noun]
attraction1607
arrest1876
spellbinding1896
1607 C. Lever Queene Elizabeths Teares sig. C3 Where are those Beauties which the world admirde, That with attraction slau'd the hearts of men?
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. viii. 23 Phantasme is that, to which we are attracted by that frustraneous attraction, which happens in melancholy, or mad persons.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 296 Place your glory in..kind attraction.
1780 Mirror No. 89 Much of the employment a shopkeeper gets, is owing to the attraction of a happy-fancied sign, advertisement, or shop-bill.
1822 F. Jeffrey Let. 22 Sept. in Ld. Cockburn Life Ld. Jeffrey (1852) II. 170 Clarissa Harlowe and Sir C. Grandison owe all their attraction to their length;..an abstract of either would be illegible.
1861 O. W. Holmes Elsie Venner xxvi. 343 Partly from restlessness, partly from an attraction she hardly avowed to herself, she..strolled listlessly along to the school.
1884 V. Lee in Contemp. Rev. 45 33 Boars and stag hunts had no attraction for quiet men of business.
1928 D. Barnes Ryder xlvi. 275 Who was she at sixty that upon the turnspit of her attraction a man should baste and be a man for all that?
1982 R. Rosenberg Beyond Separate Spheres iii. 55 Helen Thompson..saw little attraction in domesticity.
2013 P. Knight Brit. Army in Mesopotamia, 1914–18 ii. 18/2 Baghdad, like Jerusalem, held an attraction because of its historical and religious connections.
7.
a. A quality or feature that evokes interest, admiration, affection, or sympathy; a quality or feature that arouses romantic or sexual desires. Chiefly in plural.
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the mind > attention and judgement > attractiveness > [noun] > attractive quality or feature
lust1390
jollity1484
allure1534
Venus1540
attract1593
attraction1599
attractive1607
gold dust1690
charm1697
charmingness1727
take1794
charmfulness1842
style1897
appeal1916
pull factor1938
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > [noun] > quality of > between persons
attraction1599
1599 tr. A. de Pontaymeri Womans Woorth sig. F2v The most sweet attractions [Fr. attraitz] of a young Lady.
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xxi. 36 She questionlesse with her sweet harmonie, and other chosen attractions, would allure. View more context for this quotation
1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 147 These attractions..drew on a number of Smell-smocks, which courted her.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 41. ⁋5 She had new Attractions every time he saw her.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 72. ⁋11 The ornament of superficial attractions.
1780 Mirror No. 104 It is..vain to expect, that persons in that rank of life should be able to withstand the attractions of a court.
1824 T. F. Dibdin Libr. Compan. 158 By no means destitute of typographical attractions.
1873 ‘M. Twain’ & C. D. Warner Gilded Age xxxii. 290 He had added new and still richer costumes to her wardrobe, and assisted their attractions with costly jewelry.
1914 D. H. Lawrence Prussian Officer & Other Stories 99 Her chief attraction was her glistening, heavy, deep-blond hair.
1930 I. Low His Master's Voice xxi. 277 He had never considered himself a handsome man, at the zenith of his attractions.
2008 New Yorker (Nexis) 4 Aug. 27 Claude's marital desirability was considerably greater than her personal attractions.
b. Something that attracts living beings by influencing their behaviour, as by appealing to people's desires, tastes, etc.; esp. a place or entertainment that attracts visitors by providing something of interest or pleasure.fairground attraction, local attraction, tourist attraction, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attractiveness > [noun] > attractive thing
attraction1607
attractive1615
honeypot1618
sale-piece1621
beauty spot1645
eye-catcher1787
good-looker1854
spectacular1874
eye-opener1907
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > [noun] > sight or spectacle > that draws crowds
attraction1607
attractive1615
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > [noun] > subject of interest > designed to attract
attraction1607
attractive1615
stunt1878
clou1883
gimmick1926
stopper1968
1607 G. Chapman Bussy D'Ambois ii. 19 Now vanish horrors into Court attractions.
1769 Mrs. Harris Let. 24 Mar. in Earl of Malmesbury Lett. (1870) I. 177 The Wilkism, and obscenity of the woman proved the greatest attraction.
1798 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 253/1 One of the most interesting and popular attractions of the present day, is the exhibition of Miss Linwood's Needle Work.
1829 Harlequin 20 June 43 These performances, though possessing much novelty, did not prove sterling attractions.
1832 Rep. Select Comm. Dramatic Lit. 45 in Parl. Papers 1831–2 (H.C. 679) VII. 1 You may draw as beautiful a picture, but not so as to produce that sort of scenic effect which is the great attraction.
1864 W. H. D. Adams Nelsons' Hand-bk. Isle of Wight ii. 108/2 The Pier is..the great ‘lion’ and main attraction of the place.
1913 G. Middleton & R. K. Middleton Circus Mem. viii. 88 I had picked out attractions that would appeal to the eye as far as I could, like a fire eater, swordsman, an educated pig.
1927 F. Balfour-Browne Insects ix. 234 A privet hedge in full bloom..is a very effective attraction for moths.
1951 Independent Record (Helena, Montana) 25 May 10/2 The final act..consisted of a series of wire-walking, weight-lifting and sideshow attractions presented by boys in costume.
2008 N.Y. Mag. 12 May 57/4 The long, wide ocean beach is the main attraction.
8. Grammar. The occurrence of a grammatical inflection in a word different from the one required by its syntactic role, caused by its proximity to or association with another word, as in the wages of sin is (for are) death.See also paronymic attraction n. at paronymic adj. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1782 G. I. Huntingford Part the First Introd. Writing Greek (ed. 3) 123 A Participle or Adjective by Attraction is often put in the same case as the Noun or Pronoun to which it refers, though the common mode of speaking may seem to require another case.
1852 Pop. Educator V. 282/1 The subject iræ is plural, whereas the verb est is singular. This is a case of attraction; est is made singular by the proximity of the singular noun integratio.
1905 Eng. Gram. (Internat. Libr. Technol. No. 58) 112 This is called the attraction construction... The following are some examples: A train of heavily laden cars were (was) thrown from the track [etc.].
1986 R. W. Burchfield Unlocking Eng. Lang. (1992) 185 The phenomenon known as ‘attraction’ or ‘proximity’ [as in]... Marlowe's The outside of her garments were of lawn and Shakespeare's The posture of your blows are as yet unknown.
2000 A. Einsohn Copyeditor's Handbk. iii. xiv. 340 Certain constructions ‘sound right’..[although they] defy formal..agreement. Such constructions exemplify the principle of attraction.., under which the verb tends to take the form of the closest subject.
Phrases
capillary attraction n. the phenomenon whereby a fluid is drawn up a narrow channel by the intermolecular forces existing between the fluid and the sides of the channel; the intermolecular forces responsible for this phenomenon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement towards a thing, person, or position > [noun] > drawing towards itself or attraction > other types
attraction1709
capillary attraction1751
1751 B. Martin Plain & Familiar Introd. Newtonian Philos. 22 This in the latter is effected wholly by the capillary Attraction, in the Manner as above explain'd.
1882 Leamington Spa Courier 12 Aug. 3/5 The subsoil should be porous, so that the earth moisture can rise through it by capillary attraction.
1994 R. D. Treloar Plumbing i. 36 The solder is drawn into the fitting by capillary attraction.
Compounds
attraction sphere n. [in sense (b) after French sphère attractive (1887 or earlier)] †(a) the spherical region of space around a planet in which an object would be subject to a greater gravitational attraction from the planet than from the sun (obsolete. rare); (b) Cell Biology a mass of cytoplasm from which the asters extend during cell division and within which the centrosome lies when present; = centrosphere n. 2 (now rare).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic components > [noun] > chromosome > centrosphere
attraction sphere1875
astrosphere1893
centrosphere1893
1875 Amer. Cycl. XIII. 570/2 The moon's attraction sphere, estimated solely with reference to the sun, has a radius equal to one ninth of the earth's.
1889 W. B. Benham tr. W. Waldeyer in Q. Jrnl. Microsc. Sci. 30 177 See below for polar rays and pole-bodies, as well as for the structures known as ‘attraction spheres’ of van Beneden.
1949 F. B. Hutt Genetics of Fowl ii. 19 Associated with it [sc. the nucleus] is a large, dense, cytoplasmic mass, the attraction sphere.
Derivatives
aˈttractionless adj. having no attractions, unattractive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > [adjective] > unattractive
unlustya1425
favourless1594
unpersonable1601
unpromising1632
untaking1683
uninviting1686
uncharming1687
charmless1710
plain-looking1744
unengaging1749
unattracting1776
unprepossessing1790
unattractive1813
attractionless1832
unappealing1846
unsweet1866
unwinning1890
unfaceable1899
unenticing1914
schlubby1968
mug2009
1832 Hugonot viii, in Democrat & Hugonot II. 226 She had erred in pronouncing Chateau Lanoireruse attractionless.
1882 Glasgow Herald 24 Nov. 4/1 The bare, attractionless area.
2000 N. Amer. Rev. Nov. 11/2 The Office of Attractions at the Luxor Hotel is a windowless, one-roomed, attractionless chamber.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1400- nicam
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- nicaragua wood
- nicaraguan
- nicardipine
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- niccoliferous
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- nessus' shirt
- nessus-robe
- nessusrobe
- nest
- nest box
- nest factory
- nest material
- nest of counters
- nest of drawers
- nest of goblets
- nest of hornets
- nest of tables
- nest of vipers
- nest part
- nest plumage
- nest robber