Escalator
/ˈɛskəleɪtər/noun
A moving staircase that carries people between floors.
Did you know?Escalator was coined by the Otis Elevator Company in 1900 from Latin scala, meaning “stair,” and it was once treated as a trademark before becoming a generic word.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
scala
“ladder; staircase”
Late Latin
Latin
scalare
“to climb”
1900
English
Escalator
“a trademarked name for a moving staircase”
20th Century
English
escalator
“a generic term for a moving staircase”