elevator

English

Etymology

elevate +‎ -or

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛləveɪtə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɛl.ə.veɪ.tɚ/
• Rhymes: -eɪtə(ɹ)

Noun

elevator (plural elevators)

1. Anything that raises or uplifts.
   • 1902, Life, volume 39, page 559:

     And then the foaming flagons raised on high, with that best of all beverages, that elevator of spirits, that foaming sunshine, that grand and glorious brew of ale.

   • 1962 May, “Talking of Trains: Portable grain elevators at E.R. stations”, in Modern Railways, page 302, photo caption:

     Bulk loading of grain in progress from road to rail at Biggleswade using a portable elevator.

2. (Canada, US, Australia) A permanent construction with a built-in platform or cab that can be raised and lowered, used to transport people and goods, as between different floors of a building.

   Synonym: (UK, Australia, New Zealand) lift

3. A silo used for storing wheat, corn or other grain (grain elevator).
   • 1964 June 16, “Surprise Strike Stops Traffic On 6 Railroads”, in The Indianapolis Star, volume 62, number 11, Indianapolis, Ind., page 3:

     The harvest is now in full swing in the Great Plains and efforts are being made to rush the grain from the fields to the country elevators and then to the large terminals, such as Kansas City, Houston, Galveston and New Orleans.

4. (aeronautics) A control surface of an aircraft responsible for controlling the pitching motion of the machine.
5. A dental instrument used to pry up ("elevate") teeth in difficult extractions, or depressed portions of bone.
6. (anatomy) Any muscle that serves to raise a part of the body, such as the leg or the eye.
7. A type of shoe having an insert lift to make the wearer appear taller.

Derived terms

• ailevator
• elevator authority
• elevator music
• elevator operator
• elevator pitch
• elevator shaft
• elevator shoe
• elevator surfer
• elevator surfing
• elevator talk
• elevon
• express elevator
• fart in an elevator
• grain elevator
• inclined elevator
• incline elevator
• one's elevator doesn't go all the way to the top
• ruddervator
• Sabbath elevator
• screw elevator
• Shabbat elevator
• Shabbos elevator
• silk elevator
• space elevator

 

Descendants

• → Hawaiian: ʻeleweka
• → Japanese: エレベーター
• → Korean: 엘리베이터 (ellibeiteo)

Translations

permanent construction — see lift

silo for storing grain

• Finnish: siilo (fi)
• Russian: элева́тор (ru) m (elevátor)

control surface of an aircraft

• Arabic: مِصْعَدْ‎ (miṣʕad)
• Danish: højderor (da) n
• Dutch: hoogteroer (nl) n
• Finnish: korkeusperäsin
• German: Höhenruder (de) n (literally “height rudder”)
• Hebrew: מעלית‎ (he)
• Icelandic: lyfta (is)
• Japanese: 昇降舵 (しょうこうだ, shōkōda)
• Norwegian: heis (no)

type of shoe

• Finnish: piilokorkokenkä

dental instrument

anatomy: muscle

• Finnish: nostajalihas

Verb

elevator (third-person singular simple present elevators, present participle elevatoring, simple past and past participle elevatored)

1. (informal, intransitive) To move in an elevator.

   He elevatored up to the third floor.

Anagrams

• overlate

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

English grain elevator.

Noun

elevator

1. elevator, grain elevator.

Declension

Declension of elevator

nominative	elevator
genitive	elevatornıñ
dative	elevatorğa
accusative	elevatornı
locative	elevatorda
ablative	elevatordan

References

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Danish

Etymology

From English elevator.

Noun

elevator c (singular definite elevatoren, plural indefinite elevatorer)

1. lift (mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people)

Inflection

Declension of elevator

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	elevator	elevatoren	elevatorer	elevatorerne
genitive	elevators	elevatorens	elevatorers	elevatorernes

Latin

Verb

ēlevātor

1. second/third-person singular future passive imperative of ēlevō

References

• “elevator”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French élévateur or German Elevator.

Noun

elevator n (plural elevatoare)

1. elevator

Declension

Declension of elevator

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) elevator	elevatorul	(niște) elevatoare	elevatoarele
genitive/dative	(unui) elevator	elevatorului	(unor) elevatoare	elevatoarelor
vocative	elevatorule		elevatoarelor

Swedish

A dredger were an elevator is digging and transporting sediment.

Noun

elevator c

1. a conveyor, an elevator (various technical installations for lifting stuff)

   Hypernym: lastbärare

Usage notes

False friend with elevator in the sense of "mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people between floors in a building". For that meaning, see hiss.

Declension

Declension of elevator
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	elevator	elevatorn	elevatorer	elevatorerna
Genitive	elevators	elevatorns	elevatorers	elevatorernas

Related terms

• elevatorskopa

References

• elevator in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)