Etymologically
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elevation

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:54. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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