From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
elevation
n 1: the event of something being raised upward; "an elevation of
the temperature in the afternoon"; "a raising of the
land resulting from volcanic activity" [syn: lift,
raising]
2: the highest level or degree attainable; "his landscapes were
deemed the acme of beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at
their acme"; "at the height of her career"; "the peak of
perfection"; "summer was at its peak"; "...catapulted
Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit of his
ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by man";
"at the top of his profession" [syn: acme, height,
peak, pinnacle, summit, superlative, top]
3: angular distance above the horizon (especially of a
celestial object) [syn: EL, altitude, ALT]
4: a raised or elevated geological formation [syn: {natural
elevation}] [ant: natural depression]
5: distance of something above a reference point (such as sea
level); "there was snow at the higher elevations"
6: (ballet) the height of a dancer's leap or jump; "a dancer of
exceptional elevation"
7: drawing of an exterior of a structure
8: the act of increasing the wealth or prestige or power or
scope of something; "the aggrandizement of the king"; "his
elevation to cardinal" [syn: aggrandizement,
aggrandisement]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Elevation \El`e*va"tion\, n. [L. elevatio: cf. F.
['e]l['e]vation.]
1. The act of raising from a lower place, condition, or
quality to a higher; -- said of material things, persons,
the mind, the voice, etc.; as, the elevation of grain;
elevation to a throne; elevation of mind, thoughts, or
character.
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2. Condition of being elevated; height; exaltation. "Degrees
of elevation above us." --Locke.
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His style . . . wanted a little elevation. --Sir H.
Wotton.
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3. That which is raised up or elevated; an elevated place or
station; as, an elevation of the ground; a hill.
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4. (Astron.) The distance of a celestial object above the
horizon, or the arc of a vertical circle intercepted
between it and the horizon; altitude; as, the elevation of
the pole, or of a star.
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5. (Dialing) The angle which the style makes with the
substylar line.
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6. (Gunnery) The movement of the axis of a piece in a
vertical plane; also, the angle of elevation, that is, the
angle between the axis of the piece and the line o? sight;
-- distinguished from direction.
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7. (Drawing) A geometrical projection of a building, or other
object, on a plane perpendicular to the horizon;
orthographic projection on a vertical plane; -- called by
the ancients the orthography.
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Angle of elevation (Geodesy), the angle which an ascending
line makes with a horizontal plane.
Elevation of the host (R. C. Ch.), that part of the Mass in
which the priest raises the host above his head for the
people to adore.
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