superelevationn.
/ˌsuːpərˌɛlᵻˈveɪʃn/, /ˌsjuːpərˌɛlᵻˈveɪʃn/, U.S. /ˈˌsupərˌɛləˈveɪʃən/ 1. Elevation to a very high rank or status. Also: an instance of this. rare before the late 20th cent.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > [noun] > elevation or exaltation in rank
uprising1430
prelationa1450
sublimationc1450
ascendant1607
rise1608
superelevation1654
evection1658
elevation1701
1654 E. Wolley tr. ‘G. de Scudéry’ Curia Politiæ 166 If the Prince intend a super-elevation to any of his subjects. [The French original does not use a similar noun here.]
1831 Belle Assemblée Aug. 75/1 This glossing over of the blackest crimes, and super-elevation of the simplest every-day virtues.
1997 H.-G. Soeffner Order of Rituals vi. ii. 137 The symbolic superelevation of the ‘unknown soldier’ and..the ritually offered veneration accorded him.
2004 B. Harshav tr. A. Michaels Hinduism iii. 131 The woman in India can hardly forsake the field of tension between humiliation and super-elevation.
2. Elevation of the outer rail of a railway line above the inner rail on a bend or curve; similar elevation of one side of a road or channel above the other. Also: the amount or extent of this.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > track > permanent way > elevation of outer rail on curve
superelevation1840
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > elevation of one side above the other
superelevation1906
1840 tr. F. M. Guyonneau de Pambour Pract. Treat. Locomotive Engines xviii. 535 If a train of waggons traverse the curve at the maximum velocity for which the superelevation [Fr. surélévation] has been calculated, the train will deviate laterally [etc.].
1889 G. Findlay Working & Managem. Eng. Railway 54 To balance the centrifugal force of a train running round a curve, it is necessary for the outer rail on a curve to be raised somewhat above the inner rail, and the smaller the radius, and the higher the speed of the trains, the greater must be the super-elevation.
1906 Daily Chron. 3 Aug. 5/6 The arch of the road is of too large a character, and the superelevation is on the wrong side of the road.
1930 Engineering 14 Feb. 193/3 The spillway channels [of the dam] are curved, requiring large superelevation of the floor toward the outside.
1991 Mod. Railways Apr. 208/1 Most up main line trains stop at Platform 7, where the superelevation works the other way round.
3. Elevation to a higher (physical) level; an instance or the result of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [noun] > above a certain level > additional
superelevation1846
1846 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. Aug. 141 This super-elevation [of the building's foundations] would not diminish the dampness which rises from the earth itself.
1873 Minutes Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 36 ii. 188 Mr. Shelford considered that dam caused to a great extent..the super-elevation of high-water mark..above sea level.
1900 19th Cent. Apr. 641 In one well alone..no less than 8 feet of superelevation..were traversed before the alluvial deposit was reached.
1946 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 90 117/1 Wide-ranging spills over the old, scarred crust would be expected because of the temporary superelevation of the lava surface.
2003 Jrnl. Coastal Res. 19 936/2 Land loss..due to super-elevations of sea level by storm surges associated with hurricanes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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