escalator

Meaning

Noun

1. Anything that escalates.
2. A motor-driven mechanical device consisting of a continuous loop of steps that automatically conveys people from one floor to another.
3. An upward or progressive course.
4. An escalator clause.

Verb

To move by escalator.

Hyphenated as

es‧ca‧la‧tor

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tə/

Etymology

From the former trademark Escalator, created by American inventor Charles Seeberger in 1900, from Latin e (“from, out of”) + scala (“ladder”) + -tor, which forms nouns of agency. See the appendix. Broader usage may be influenced by escalate, and is equivalent to escalate + -or. For an alternative etymology, see the Online Etymology Dictionary.