lofty

See also Lofty

English

Etymology

Middle English, noble, from loft (“upstairs room, sky”).

Pronunciation

• (RP) enPR: lŏft'i, IPA: /ˈlɒfti/, X-SAMPA: /"lQfti/
• (US) IPA: /ˈlɔːfti/, X-SAMPA: /"lO:fti/

  Rhymes: -ɒfti

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

lofty (comparative loftier, superlative loftiest)

1. high, tall, having great height or stature
   • 1862, George Borrow, chapter 98, Wild Wales^[1]:

     On my left was a river, which came roaring down from a range of lofty mountains right before me to the south-east.

   a lofty bed

2. idealistic, implying over-optimism

   a lofty goal

3. extremely proud

Translations

high

• Dutch: hoogstaand (nl)
• Finnish: korkea (fi)
• French: haut (fr)
• German: hoch, luftig (almost exclusively in the form "in luftiger Höhe" [in lofty height])

• Italian: maestoso (it)
• Korean: 높다 (nopda)
• Polish: wysoki (pl) m
• Portuguese: majestoso (pt) m
• Spanish: majestuoso (es)

idealistic

• Armenian: վեհ (hy) (veh)
• Dutch: ambitieus (nl)
• Finnish: ylevä (fi)
• German: ambitioniert (de)

• Korean: 높다 (nopda)
• Manx: ard-aignagh (gv)
• Polish: szczytny m, wzniosły m
• Portuguese: ambicioso (pt) m

extremely proud

• Finnish: kopea (fi)

Related terms

• loft
• aloft