From gum + lift, apparently by analogy with face lift.
A compound of gum + lift
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- ‘to gape, yawn’
Proto-Germanic *gaumô ‘palate’
Proto-West Germanic *gōmō
Old English gōma ‘palate’
Middle English gom
English gum
Proto-Germanic *luftuz ‘roof, sky, air’
Proto-Germanic *luftijaną ‘to raise in the air’
Old Norse lypta ‘to lift’
Middle English liften
English lift
Today it means
noun A gingivectomy performed for the aesthetic purpose of raising or shaping the gum line.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / gum lift
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