ANTIC
What does "ANTIC" mean?
A wild, playful, or absurd act intended to amuse or attract attention.
Meanings
- A ludicrous, extravagant, or attention-grabbing act, usually in the plural. The crowd laughed at the clown's antics.
- Grotesquely fanciful or absurd. He pulled an antic face that set the children shrieking. archaic
Did you know?
- Despite meaning 'silly act', 'antic' comes from the Italian for 'ancient' - named for the bizarre grotesque figures found painted in the buried ruins of ancient Rome.
Word origin
From Italian 'antico', ancient, from Latin 'antiquus'; the grotesque figures unearthed in ancient Roman ruins gave 'antic' its sense of bizarre, fantastical ornament and behaviour.
Remember it
An ANT doing tricks - small, busy, and ridiculous: ANT + IC.
A little poem
He plays the fool to dodge the room's true weight-
the cap and bells are armour worn too late.
couplet
Wordplay
- The word for silly behaviour comes from the word for ancient - proof that humans have been making fools of themselves since the very beginning.
What it teaches
Clowning is often the brave face grief wears in public; watch the eyes above the grin.
Quick facts
What does ANTIC mean?
A wild, playful, or absurd act intended to amuse or attract attention.
Is ANTIC a valid word?
Yes — ANTIC is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is ANTIC?
ANTIC has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does ANTIC come from?
From Italian 'antico', ancient, from Latin 'antiquus'; the grotesque figures unearthed in ancient Roman ruins gave 'antic' its sense of bizarre, fantastical ornament and behaviour.
What can ANTIC teach us?
Clowning is often the brave face grief wears in public; watch the eyes above the grin.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.