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aloft

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅loft

[uh-lawft, uh-loft]
–adverb
1. high up; far above the ground.
2. Nautical.
a. on the masts; in the rigging; overhead.
b. (on a square-rigged sailing ship) in the upper rigging, specifically, on or above the lower yards (opposed to alow ).
3. in or into the air.
–preposition
4. on or at the top of: flags flying aloft the castle.

Origin:
1150–1200; ME o loft; < ON ā lopt in the air; see a- 1 , loft
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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a·loft   (ə-lôft', ə-lŏft')   
adv.  
  1. In or into a high place; high or higher up.

  2. Nautical At or toward the upper rigging.

prep.  On or above: birds perching aloft telephone wires.

[Middle English, from Old Norse ā lopt : ā, in; see an- in Indo-European roots + lopt, air.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

aloft 
c.1200, from O.N. a lopti "up above," lit. "up in the air," from a "in, on" + lopt "sky, loft" (cf. Goth. luftus, O.H.G. luft, O.E. lyft "air").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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