Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LIFT, n.

1. The act of raising; a lifting; as, the lift of the feet in walking or running. – Bacon. The goat gives the fox a life. – L'Estrange.
2. An effort to raise; as, give us a lift. [Popular use.]
3. That which is to be raised.
4. A dead lift, an ineffectual effort to raise; or the thing which the strength is not sufficient to raise.
5. Any thing to be done which exceeds the strength; or a state of inability; as, to help one at a dead lift. – Butler. Swift.
6. A rise; a degree of elevation; as, the lift of a lock in canals. – Gallatin.
7. In Scottish, the sky; the atmosphere; the firmament. [Sax. lyft, air, Sw. luft.]
8. In seamen's language, a rope descending from the cap and mast-head to the extremity of a yard. Its use is to support the yard, keep it in equilibrio, and raise the end, when occasion requires. – Mar. Dict.