lift
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English liften, lyften, from Old Norse lypta (“to lift, air”, literally “to raise in the air”), from Proto-Germanic *luftijaną (“to raise in the air”), related to *luftuz (“roof, air”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *lewp- (“to peel, break off, damage”) or from a root meaning roof (see *luftuz). Cognate with Danish and Norwegian Bokmål løfte (“to lift”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish lyfta (“to lift”), German lüften (“to air, lift”), Old English lyft (“air”). See above. 1851 for the noun sense "a mechanical device for vertical transport".
(To steal): For this sense Cleasby suggests perhaps a relation to the root of Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌹𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 (hliftus) "thief", cognate with Latin cleptus and Greek κλέπτω (kléptō)).[1]
Verb
lift (third-person singular simple present lifts, present participle lifting, simple past lifted or (rare, regional, obsolete) lift, past participle lifted or (rare, regional, obsolete) lift or (obsolete) yleft)
- (transitive, intransitive) To raise or rise.
- The fog eventually lifted, leaving the streets clear.
- You never lift a finger to help me!
- c1490, Of Penance and Confession be master Jhon Yrlandː
- Liftand (lifting) thy hands and thy eyen to Heaven.
- 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,
- Their walk had continued not more than ten minutes when they crossed a creek by a wooden bridge and came to a row of mean houses standing flush with the street. At the door of one, an old black woman had stooped to lift a large basket, piled high with laundered clothes.
- 2015 February 7, Val Bourne, “The quiet man of the world of snowdrops”, in The Daily Telegraph (London), page G8:
- Once it [a snowdrop variety] became established, some bulbs were lifted and passed on to be chipped (i.e. cut into small pieces and grown on).
- (transitive, slang) To steal.
- 1919, Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of East and West
- Kamal is out with twenty men to raise the Border side,
And he has lifted the Colonel's mare that is the Colonel's pride.
- Kamal is out with twenty men to raise the Border side,
- 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter VI, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
- “Wilbert Cream is a ... what's the word?” I referred to the letter. “A kleptomaniac […] Does any thought occur to you?” “It most certainly does. I am thinking of your uncle's collection of old silver.” “Me, too.” “It presents a grave temptation to the unhappy young man.” “I don't know that I'd call him unhappy. He probably thoroughly enjoys lifting the stuff.”
- 1919, Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of East and West
- (transitive, slang) To source directly without acknowledgement; to plagiarise.
- 2018, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, page 258:
- Based on a similarity across a range of Anglo-Indian entries in these three dictionaries, it appears that (along with other lexis) Barrère and Leland (1898) copied this entry from Hotten (1864), who had in turn lifted it directly from Stocqueler (1848).
- (transitive, slang) To arrest (a person).
- 2000, Marie Smyth, Marie-Therese Fay, Personal Accounts From Northern Ireland's Troubles
- Maybe the police lifted him and he's in Castlereagh [Interrogation Centre] because he'd been lifted three or four times previously and took to Castlereagh. They used to come in and raid the house and take him away.
- 2000, Marie Smyth, Marie-Therese Fay, Personal Accounts From Northern Ireland's Troubles
- (transitive) To remove (a ban, restriction, etc.).
- (transitive) To alleviate, to lighten (pressure, tension, stress, etc.)
- 2011 September 24, David Ornstein, “Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC Sport[1]:
- The Gunners boss has been heavily criticised for his side's poor start to the Premier League season but this result helps lift the pressure.
- (transitive) to cause to move upwards.
- 2011 October 2, Aled Williams, “Swansea 2 - 0 Stoke”, in BBC Sport Wales[2]:
- Graham secured victory with five minutes left, coolly lifting the ball over Asmir Begovic.
- (informal, intransitive) To lift weights; to weight-lift.
- She lifts twice a week at the gym.
- To try to raise something; to exert the strength for raising or bearing.
- a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC:
- strained by lifting at a weight too heavy
- To elevate or improve in rank, condition, etc.; often with up.
- 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:
- The Roman virtues lift up mortal man.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy 3:6:
- being lifted up with pride
- (obsolete) To bear; to support.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- Th' earth him underneath
Did grone, as feeble so great load to lift.
- To collect, as moneys due; to raise.
- (programming) To transform (a function) into a corresponding function in a different context.
- 2021, Dean Wampler, chapter 2, in Programming Scala, 3rd edition, O'Reilly, →ISBN:
- Finally, we can lift a partial function into a regular (total) function that returns an
Option
or aSome(value)
when the partial function is defined for the input argument orNone
when it isn't.
- (finance) To buy a security or other asset previously offered for sale.
- (hunting, transitive) To take (hounds) off the existing scent and move them to another spot.
- 1885, Lina Chaworth Musters, Book of Hunting Songs and Sport (page 144)
- I lifted the hounds (hoping to catch the leading ones there) to the far side of Hallaton Thorns.
- 1885, Lina Chaworth Musters, Book of Hunting Songs and Sport (page 144)
Usage notes
Lift also has an obsolete form liftand for the present participle. The strong forms were common until the 17th century in writing and still survive in speech in a few rural dialects.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
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References
Noun
lift (countable and uncountable, plural lifts)
- An act of lifting or raising.
- The act of transporting someone in a vehicle; a ride; a trip.
- 1913, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Poison Belt[3]:
- Accordingly, in spite of many grumbles and remonstrances from Summerlee, I ordered an additional tube, which was placed with the other in his motor-car, for he had offered me a lift to Victoria.
- He gave me a lift to the bus station.
- (UK, Australia, New Zealand) Mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people between floors in a building; an elevator.
- Take the lift to the fourth floor.
- An upward force, such as the force that keeps aircraft aloft.
- (measurement) The difference in elevation between the upper pool and lower pool of a waterway, separated by lock.
- (historical slang) A thief.
- 1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society 2006, page 32:
- The lift came into the shop dressed like a country gentleman, but was careful not to have a cloak about him, so that the tradesman could see he had no opportunity to conceal any goods about his person.
- 1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society 2006, page 32:
- (dance) The lifting of a dance partner into the air.
- Permanent construction with a built-in platform that is lifted vertically.
- An improvement in mood.
- 2010, Anne Baker, With a Little Luck:
- Just to think he had both a mistress and a wife gave him a lift. He needed a lift, for although he'd had promotion, his wasn't an exciting job.
- November 17 2012, BBC Sport: Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham [4]
- The dismissal of a player who left Arsenal for Manchester City before joining Tottenham gave the home players and fans a noticeable lift.
- The amount or weight to be lifted.
- What's the maximum lift of this crane?
- The space or distance through which anything is lifted.
- A rise; a degree of elevation.
- the lift of a lock in canals
- A liftgate.
- (nautical) A rope leading from the masthead to the extremity of a yard below, and used for raising or supporting the end of the yard.
- (engineering) One of the steps of a cone pulley.
- (shoemaking) A layer of leather in the heel of a shoe.
- (horology) That portion of the vibration of a balance during which the impulse is given.
- 1887, Claudius Saunier, A Treatise on Modern Horology in Theory and Practice:
- some measure the total lift and others only the lift on one side , a quantity which is not exactly half of the total lift
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “lift”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Swahili: lifti
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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See also
Etymology 2
From Middle English lifte, luft, lefte (“air, sky, heaven”), from Old English lyft (“atmosphere, air”), from Proto-West Germanic *luftu, from Proto-Germanic *luftuz (“roof, sky, air”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewp- (“to peel, break off, damage”).
Cognate with Old High German luft (“air”) (German Luft), Dutch lucht (“air”), Old Norse lopt, loft (“upper room, sky, air”). More at loft.
Noun
lift (usually uncountable, plural lifts)
- (UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) Air.
- (UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) The sky; the heavens; firmament; atmosphere.
- 1836, Joanna Baillie, Witchcraft, Act 1, p.13
- No, no, Leddy! the sun maun be up in the lift whan I venture to her den.
- 1836, Joanna Baillie, Witchcraft, Act 1, p.13
Synonyms
- (gas or vapour breathed): air
- (firmament, ethereal region surrounding the earth): atmosphere
- (the heavens, sky): welkin
References
- “lift”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- “lift”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “lift”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
Noun
lift n (singular definite liftet, plural indefinite lift)
Inflection
Noun
lift c (singular definite liften, plural indefinite lifte or lifter)
Inflection
Dutch
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Noun
lift m (plural liften, diminutive liftje n)
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- → Papiamentu: left
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
lift
- (deprecated template usage) first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of liften
- (deprecated template usage) imperative of liften
Estonian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
lift (genitive lifti, partitive lifti)
Declension
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Hungarian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
lift (plural liftek)
Declension
Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | lift | liftek |
accusative | liftet | lifteket |
dative | liftnek | lifteknek |
instrumental | lifttel | liftekkel |
causal-final | liftért | liftekért |
translative | liftté | liftekké |
terminative | liftig | liftekig |
essive-formal | liftként | liftekként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | liftben | liftekben |
superessive | liften | lifteken |
adessive | liftnél | lifteknél |
illative | liftbe | liftekbe |
sublative | liftre | liftekre |
allative | lifthez | liftekhez |
elative | liftből | liftekből |
delative | liftről | liftekről |
ablative | lifttől | liftektől |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
lifté | lifteké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
liftéi | liftekéi |
Possessive forms of lift | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | liftem | liftjeim |
2nd person sing. | lifted | liftjeid |
3rd person sing. | liftje | liftjei |
1st person plural | liftünk | liftjeink |
2nd person plural | liftetek | liftjeitek |
3rd person plural | liftjük | liftjeik |
Synonyms
- felvonó (dated)
- páternoszter (a slow, continuously moving lift or elevator)
Derived terms
(Compound words):
- személyzeti lift (lift/elevator for staff)
- beteglift (lift/elevator for patients in hospitals)
- sílift
- teherlift
Further reading
- lift in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Indonesian
Etymology
From English lift, from Middle English liften, lyften, from Old Norse lypta (“to lift, air”, literally “to raise in the air”), from Proto-Germanic *luftijaną (“to raise in the air”), related to *luftuz (“roof, air”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *lewp- (“to peel, break off, damage”) or from a root meaning roof (see *luftuz).
Pronunciation
Noun
lift (plural lift-lift, first-person possessive liftku, second-person possessive liftmu, third-person possessive liftnya)
- lift, mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people between floors in a building; an elevator.
Alternative forms
- lif (Standard Malay)
Compounds
Further reading
- “lift” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Italian
Etymology
Noun
lift m (invariable)
Derived terms
Romanian
Etymology
From English lift, French lift.
Pronunciation
Noun
lift n (plural lifturi)
- elevator, lift
- Synonym: ascensor
- (tennis, table tennis, volleyball) A stroke that gives the ball an upward trajection.
Derived terms
Scots
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English lift, luft, from Old English lyft.
Noun
lift (plural lifts)
References
- “lift” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
lȉft m (Cyrillic spelling ли̏фт)
Declension
Synonyms
Slovak
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
lift m (genitive singular liftu, nominative plural lifty, genitive plural liftov, declension pattern of dub)
- (colloquial) an elevator, lift
Declension
Synonyms
Derived terms
Further reading
- “lift”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024
Uzbek
Etymology
From Russian лифт (lift), from English lift.
Noun
lift (plural liftlar)
Declension
Related terms
Volapük
Noun
lift (nominative plural lifts)
- elevator
- altitude adjustor
Declension
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪft
- Rhymes:English/ɪft/1 syllable
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old Norse
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English slang
- English informal terms
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Programming
- en:Finance
- en:Hunting
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- British English
- Australian English
- New Zealand English
- English terms with historical senses
- en:Dance
- en:Nautical
- en:Engineering
- en:Shoemaking
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English dialectal terms
- Scottish English
- en:Footwear
- Danish terms borrowed from English
- Danish terms derived from English
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish neuter nouns
- Danish common-gender nouns
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪft
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪft/1 syllable
- Dutch terms borrowed from English
- Dutch terms derived from English
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch non-lemma forms
- Dutch verb forms
- Estonian terms borrowed from English
- Estonian terms derived from English
- Estonian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Estonian lemmas
- Estonian nouns
- et:Aeronautics
- Hungarian terms borrowed from English
- Hungarian terms derived from English
- Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ift
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ift/1 syllable
- Hungarian lemmas
- Hungarian nouns
- hu:Transport
- Indonesian terms borrowed from English
- Indonesian terms derived from English
- Indonesian terms derived from Middle English
- Indonesian terms derived from Old Norse
- Indonesian terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Indonesian terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Indonesian 1-syllable words
- Indonesian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Indonesian/lɪf
- Rhymes:Indonesian/lɪf/1 syllable
- Rhymes:Indonesian/ɪf
- Rhymes:Indonesian/ɪf/1 syllable
- Rhymes:Indonesian/f
- Rhymes:Indonesian/f/1 syllable
- Indonesian lemmas
- Indonesian nouns
- Italian terms borrowed from English
- Italian terms derived from English
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Italian indeclinable nouns
- Italian countable nouns
- Italian masculine nouns
- it:Tennis
- Romanian terms borrowed from English
- Romanian terms derived from English
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns
- ro:Tennis
- ro:Table tennis
- ro:Volleyball
- Scots terms inherited from Middle English
- Scots terms derived from Middle English
- Scots terms inherited from Old English
- Scots terms derived from Old English
- Scots lemmas
- Scots nouns
- Middle Scots
- Serbo-Croatian terms derived from English
- Serbo-Croatian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian nouns
- Serbo-Croatian masculine nouns
- Slovak terms derived from English
- Slovak 1-syllable words
- Slovak terms with IPA pronunciation
- Slovak lemmas
- Slovak nouns
- Slovak masculine nouns
- Slovak colloquialisms
- Uzbek terms borrowed from Russian
- Uzbek terms derived from Russian
- Uzbek terms derived from English
- Uzbek lemmas
- Uzbek nouns
- uz:Aeronautics
- Volapük lemmas
- Volapük nouns