elevation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English elevacioun, borrowed from Old French elevation and directly Latin ēlevātiō (“a lifting up”),^[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of ēlevō (“to lift up, raise; to lighten”) (see elevate),^[2][4] from ex (“out”) and levō (“to lighten, raise”), from levis (“light”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁legʷʰ- (“not heavy”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A rising, or the height to which something is raised: the late 14th century in Etymonline;^[2] Merriam-Webster gives the 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The act of raising something up is from the 1520s.^[2][5] In the Mass, the lifting up of the Host for adoration is recorded from 1563–87,^[5] and a rising of the ground or skin from 1543.^[5] The figurative lifting up of the soul, exaltation of feeling, is from about 1600.^[5] In ballet, a dancer's leap off the ground is from 1830.^[5] Height above sea level and a scale drawing of one face of a building are in modern dictionaries.^[6][7]

Timeline

• late 14th century – a height.^[2]
• 1526 – the act of lifting up.^[5]
• 1543 – a rising of the ground.^[5]
• 1563–87 – the elevation of the Host.^[5]
• 1830 – a dancer's leap.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of raising something, or the state of being raised.
2. Height above a given level, especially above sea level; altitude.
3. A raised place; a height.
4. Loftiness of thought or feeling.
5. A scale drawing of the side or front of a building.

Word family

• superelevation
• angle of elevation

Related words

• elevate
• elevator
• lever
• levity
• relieve

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins