upheaval

Etymology

It is formed from English upheave + -al,^[2][3][4][5] which the OED analyses as up- + heave + the noun suffix.^[6] The base verb, recorded from before 1300, is from Middle English upheven, from up and heven (“to heave”).^[7][4][6] Etymonline derives it from Old English uphebban,^[5] while the OED treats it as formed in English and compares the Old English verb, Old Frisian upheva, Dutch opheffen, Old High German ûfhevan and German aufheben.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In geology, the raising of land above its former level, especially by volcanic action: 1838, in Lyell's Manual of Elementary Geology.^[6] Merriam-Webster also dates the word to 1838,^[7] but Etymonline dates it to 1834, of upheavals in society, and to 1836 in geology.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the OED's record the geological sense came first and the figurative one followed:^[6] Hoad describes the word as geological, "hence" often figurative,^[3] and Weekley says that the figurative sense comes from geology, where upheaval is the opposite of subsidence.^[8] An instance of upheaval, a single upward displacement of the earth's crust, is recorded from 1849, and a sudden, violent change in society from 1850.^[6] From 1890 the word was also used of any heaving up.^[6][2] Etymonline, however, finds the social sense in 1834, before the geological one.^[5]

Timeline

• 1838 – in geology, the raising of land above its former level.^[6][7] Etymonline dates the geological sense to 1836.^[5]
• 1849 – an upward displacement of part of the earth's crust.^[6]
• 1850 – a violent upset of society; a sudden, violent change.^[6] Etymonline dates the social sense to 1834.^[5]
• 1890 – the action of heaving up, in general use.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sudden, strong or violent change or disruption, especially in political or social life: The closure of the mines brought years of upheaval to the valley.^[9][7][6]
2. (geology) The raising of part of the earth's crust, as by volcanic action; uplift, or an instance of it.^[9][7][6]
3. The action of heaving something up.^[6][2]

Related words

• upheave
• heave
• uplift

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins