Etymograph

English

liftback

From lift + back, modelled on hatchback or similar pre-existing automotive terms.

A compound of lift + back

Proto-Germanic *luftuz ‘roof, sky, air’

Proto-Germanic *luftijaną ‘to raise in the air’

Old Norse lypta ‘to lift’

Middle English liften

English lift

Proto-Germanic *baką ‘back’

Proto-West Germanic *bak

Old English bæc

Middle English bak ‘the back’

English back

The story

Coined in 1973 by Toyota to describe their Celica model.

Today it means

noun A variation on the hatchback car body style, with a more gently sloping roofline.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / liftback