aloft

English

Pronunciation

• (Can we verify this pronunciation?) enPR: ə-lôft', IPA: /əˈlɔːft/, SAMPA: /@"lO:ft/

• Audio (US)

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  Rhymes: -ɔːft

• enPR: ə-lŏft', IPA: /əˈlɒft/, SAMPA: /@"lQft/

  Rhymes: -ɒft

Etymology

From Old Norse á lopti (“in the sky”).

Adverb

aloft (comparative more aloft, superlative most aloft)

1. in the air; in the sky

   high winds aloft

2. above, overhead, in a high place; up
   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:

     Someone's turned the chest out alow and aloft.

   • 1954, William Golding, Lord of the Flies:

     He noticed that he still held the knife aloft and brought his arm down, replacing the blade in the sheath.

3. (nautical) in the top, at the masthead, or on the higher yards or rigging.
   • 1859, James Fenimore Cooper, The Red Rover: A Tale:

     I think you said something concerning the manner in which yonder ship has anchored, and of the condition they keep things alow and aloft?

Translations

above

Bulgarian: високо (bg), нависоко (bg) Finnish: ylhäällä (fi), yläpuolella (fi)

French: en haut (fr), en l'air (fr) Slovak: hore (sk), vysoko (sk)

in the top, at the masthead, or on the higher yards or rigging

Irish: i gcrann (ga)

Related terms

• loft
• lofty

See also

• alow

Anagrams

• float

References

• aloft in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913