elevation

Synonyms

Antonyms

El`e*va"tion, n. Etym: [L. elevatio: cf. F. élévation.] 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. 2. Condition of being elevated; height; exaltation. "Degrees of elevation above us." Locke. His style . . . wanted a little elevation. Sir H. Wotton. 3. That which is raised up or elevated; an elevated place or station; as, an elevation of the ground; a hill. 4. (Astron.) Defn: 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. 5. (Dialing) Defn: The angle which the style makes with the substylar line. 6. (Gunnery) Defn: 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 odirection. 7. (Drawing) Defn: 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. 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.