lift English · revision 4822

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=non lypta}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /lɪft/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|liften]], [[bor|non|lypta|t=to raise]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*luftijaną]],^(Etymonline) a verb formed from the Germanic noun for “air, sky”, the source of [[loft]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) so that it once meant “to move up into the air”.^(Etymonline) Middle Low German lüchten, Dutch lichten and German lüften “to lift” are related.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To raise in rank or dignity, to exalt: about 1200 in Etymonline and Barnhart, in the Ormulum;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) to raise from the ground, pick up, about 1300 (a1300 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The meaning “to steal”, as in ''shoplift'', is from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) Of clouds or fog, to rise or seem to rise is from 1834.^(Etymonline) The face-lift sense of surgery is from 1921 in Etymonline, 1922 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The noun was first a load a man can carry (the mid-14th century), then the act of lifting (1485, in Malory).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) A free ride for a walker in a vehicle is from 1712, in Swift's Journal to Stella.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Lift for a machine that raises people between floors is from 1851 (a dumbwaiter) and 1861 (a passenger lift), and is now British, where Americans say [[elevator]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The upward force on an aircraft's wings is by 1902.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – to exalt.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – to raise from the ground.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1485 – noun, the act of lifting.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1520s – to steal.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1712 – a ride in a vehicle.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1851 – a hoisting machine.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1902 – aerodynamic lift.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1921 – surgical, to lift the face.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To raise to a higher position.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To rise or seem to rise, as fog does.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To end a ban or restriction.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make someone feel happier.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To [[steal]] or [[plagiarize]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(British)'' A machine that carries people or goods between floors; an [[elevator]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A free ride in a [[car]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A feeling of encouragement.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The upward force acting on an aircraft's [[wing]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[liftable]]

+ * [[lifter]]

+ * [[uplift]]

+ * [[airlift]]

+ * [[shoplift]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[loft]]

+ * [[aloft]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different lift, from Old English lyft “air, sky”, survives in Scots and poetry for the sky or heavens.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}