attraction

Etymology

From Middle English attraccioun, from Old French attraction, from Latin attractio from past participle of attrahō (= ad + trahō), equivalent to attract + -ion.

noun

1. The tendency to attract.
   The Moon is held in its orbit by the attraction of the Earth's gravity.
2. The feeling of being attracted.
   I felt a strange attraction towards the place.
   When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose. And the queerer the cure for those ailings the bigger the attraction. A place like the Right Livers' Rest was bound to draw freaks, same as molasses draws flies. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
3. (countable) An event, location, or business that has a tendency to draw interest from visitors, and in many cases, local residents.
   The new mall should be a major attraction.
   Star Tours is a very cool Disney World attraction.
4. (chess) The sacrifice of pieces in order to expose the enemy king.
5. (linguistics) An error in language production that incorrectly extends a feature from one word in a sentence to another, e.g. when a verb agrees with a noun other than its subject.