Ascensor

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An apparatus designed to transport people or goods vertically between different levels of a building or structure
2. a mechanism that moves in a shaft to connect floors in a convenient manner
3. a device leveraging cables and pulleys to elevate passengers or cargo efficiently

Etymology: The English "ascensor" is a loanword that arrived along with the same word in French, Italian and Spanish, all of which took it from Latin "ascēnsor", a noun meaning one who climbs up or ascends. Its root is the verb "ascendere", to climb, which is also behind "ascend" and "ascent". The Latin noun was an agent word, a person doing the climbing, and the lift sense came later, when a mechanism that carried people upward took over the term. English keeps the word alive mainly in formal and technical contexts, where it sits alongside the more common "lift" and "elevator". The Romance-language forms reflect the same Latin source, so speakers of French, Italian and Spanish recognise the same root in their own words for a lift.

Synonyms: elevator, lift