hoist

Definition

To raise; to lift; to elevate (especially, to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle or pulley, said of a sail, a flag, a heavy package or weight).

Etymology

Alteration of earlier hoise (“to hoist”), apparently based on the past tense forms, from Middle Dutch hisen (“to hoist”). Compare modern Dutch hijsen (“to hoist”), German hissen (“to hoist”), Danish hejse (“to hoist”). Compare also French hisser (“to hoist”), Galician isar (“to hoist”), Spanish izar (“to hoist”), Catalan hissar (“to hoist”), Italian issare (“to hoist”), Portuguese içar (“to hoist”), Sicilian jisari (“to hoist”), all borrowed from a Germanic source.

Example Sentences

• "For tis the ſport to haue the enginer / Hoiſt with his ovvne petar, an't ſhall goe hard / But I vvill delue one yard belovve their mines, / And blovve them at the Moone: […]"
• "They land my goods, and hoist my flying sails."
• "[Abasalom's] ambition would needs be fingering the sceptre, and hoisting him into his father's throne"