Where does “escalation” come from?
Escalation comes from Italian scalata (a climbing or scaling), derived from Italian scalare (to climb), from Italian scala (ladder or staircase), ultimately from Latin scala with the suffix -alis/-aris.
escalation (English): an increase or rise, especially one to counteract...
Definitions
- an increase or rise, especially one to counteract...
Ancestry of “escalation”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | escalate | To increase in extent or intensity; to intensify... |
| 2 | French | escalade | climbing; escalation; first-person singular... |
| 3 | Italian | scalata | scaling, climbing; climb; feminine singular of... |
| 4 | Italian | scalare | To climb or scale; To pay off a debt in... |
| 5 | Italian | scala | ladder; stair; scale |
| 6 | Byzantine Greek | σκάλα | — |
| 7 | Latin | scāla | ladder |
| 8 | Latin | scandere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 9 | Latin | scandō | to climb, ascend, mount |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱend- | to jump up, ascend |