Wordwyrt

escalator

/ˈeskəˌleɪtə/EH-skuh-lay-tur
/ˈɛskəˌleɪtɚ/EH-skuh-lay-tur

Meaninga moving stair

Common meaning: a moving staircase

‘out’ + ‘a ladder, flight of steps’ → escalator

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin scāla ‘a ladder, flight of steps’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry scāla, p. 1638 · dictionary scan

Roots

  • scāla Latin “a ladder, flight of steps”

Related words

escalatescale

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