aloft
part of speech
adverb (aloft); adjective (aloft)
meaning for a pupil
1) Up in the air or high above the ground: the kite stayed aloft for an hour. tree →
2) Held up high: the captain held the cup aloft. tree →
3) (on ships) Up in the masts and sails. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: The passage says God "bore" the letters through water, fire and air, which fits the book's idea that the letters are the building blocks of creation. In the primary lessons: A slightly literary word in stories and sports reports (holding a trophy aloft), and in science about things that stay up in the air, like birds, balloons and aircraft. Phrases: hold aloft, stay aloft, keep aloft, go aloft.
examples
- God has carried these through waters, He has borne them aloft through fire, and He has stamped them in the storms of the air; He has distributed them among the seven stars, and has assigned them to twelve celestial constellations. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
- The winner held the trophy aloft. tree →
- Warm air keeps the hot-air balloon aloft. tree →
- The eagle stayed aloft without flapping its wings. tree →
- Sailors climbed aloft to fix the sail. tree →
- The kite was aloft for nearly an hour. tree →
- She held the torch aloft so we could see. tree →
- A Hawk observed it, and, pouncing upon it with his talons, carried it aloft. tree →
note
It is not used before a noun: "the balloon is aloft", not "the aloft balloon". Literary; everyday words are "up in the air" or "high up".
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «aloft» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.