escalate

Where does the word "escalate" come from? It comes from Latin scala, and was adopted directly into English (1920s).

Escalate’s story begins in Latin: scala meant “ladder.” The root of 'scale'. It reached English by 1920s as escalate. Back-formed from 'escalator', a 1900 trade name; the sense 'intensify' dates from the 1950s Cold War. Today, escalate means to increase rapidly in intensity.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient scala "ladder", the root of 'scale'.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1920s escalate "to ride an escalator", back-formed from 'escalator', a 1900 trade name; the sense 'intensify' dates from the 1950s Cold War.