English
lift
Lift comes from Old Norse lypta ‘to raise in the air’, from Proto-Germanic *luftijaną, from *luftuz ‘air’, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *lewp-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewp-‘to flake off’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luftuz‘roof, sky, air’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luftijaną‘to raise in the air’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350lypta‘to lift’literally ‘to raise in the air’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500liften
- Englishearliest quotation 1590lift
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewp-‘to flake off’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luftuz‘roof, sky, air’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luftijaną‘to raise in the air’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350lypta‘to lift’literally ‘to raise in the air’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500liften
- Englishearliest quotation 1590lift
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto XI: “Th' earth him underneath Did grone, as feeble so…”
The story
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).
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *lewp-
Another origin of lift
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewp-‘to peel, break off, damage’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luftuz‘roof, sky, air’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*luftu‘roof’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*luftireconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lyft‘atmosphere, air’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lifte
- Englishtodaylift
Today it means
verb To raise or rise.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewp- / lift