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aloft

[uh-lawft, uh-loft]
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adverb
  1. high up; far above the ground.
  2. Nautical.
    1. on the masts; in the rigging; overhead.
    2. (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.
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preposition
  1. on or at the top of: flags flying aloft the castle.
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Origin of aloft

1150–1200; Middle English o loft; < Old Norse ā lopt in the air; see a-1, loft
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for aloft

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • A good look-out was kept for men, from aloft, but none were seen from any of the vessels.

    Ned Myers

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • Saying no word, out of his lair he came with that terrible sword of his aloft.

    Fair Margaret

    H. Rider Haggard

  • The celebrant kissed the tablet, and held it aloft before all the people.

    English Villages

    P. H. Ditchfield

  • No living thing would that loathly one leave as aloft it flew.

    Beowulf

    Anonymous

  • But from aloft Chris saw the trick and how the camouflage was worked.

    Raiders Invisible

    Desmond Winter Hall

British Dictionary definitions for aloft

aloft

adverb, adjective (postpositive)
  1. in or into a high or higher place; up above
  2. nautical in or into the rigging of a vessel
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Word Origin

C12: from Old Norse ā lopt in the air; see lift 1, loft
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for aloft

adv.

c.1200, from a Scandinavian source; cf. Old Norse a lopti "up above," literally "up in the air," from a "in, on" + lopt "sky, air, atmosphere; loft, upper room" (cf. Gothic luftus, Old High German luft, Old English lyft "air;" see loft).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper