attention

      English

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      Etymology

      From Middle English attencioun, from Latin attentio, from attendere, past participle attentus (“to attend, give heed to”); see attend.

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      attention (usually uncountable; plural attentions)

      1. (uncountable) Mental focus.
        • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 3, The Mirror and the Lamp:
          One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”  He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.
        • 2012 March 1, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87: 
          But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.
        Please direct your attention to the following words.
      2. (countable) An action or remark expressing concern for or interest in someone or something, especially romantic interest.
        • 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, ch. 3,
          She attended her sickbed; her watchful attentions triumphed over the malignity of the distemper.
        • 1910, Stephen Leacock, "How to Avoid Getting Married," in Literary Lapses,
          For some time past I have been the recipient of very marked attentions from a young lady.
      3. (uncountable, military) A state of alertness in the standing position.
        The company will now come to attention.

      Derived terms

      Related terms

      Translations

      mental focus
      romantic interest
      state of alertness in the standing position
      The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
      Translations to be checked

      Interjection

      attention

      1. (military) Used as a command to bring soldiers to the attention position.

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      French

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      attention f (plural attentions)

      1. attention (clarification of this French definition is being sought)

      Interjection

      attention

      1. look out, be careful

      Anagrams

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      Last modified on 16 June 2013, at 21:17