superelevation en · NOUN
Pronunciation
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Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Italic *super Latin super Latin super-lbor. English super- Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰusder. ▲ Proto-Italic *breɣʷisinflu.? Proto-Italic *leɣʷis Latin levis Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin levō Latin ēlevō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin ēlevātiō Old French elevation English elevation English superelevation From super- + elevation.
Meanings
- The angle that a gun must be elevated above the line of its target to allow for the effect of gravity on the projectile.
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The cant of a railway track; the difference in elevation (height) between its two edges, as on a curve.
In the third place, the superelevation and alignment of the track, theoretically calculated for speeds of 70 to 75 m.p.h., was adequate for the 80 to 85 m.p.h. or so normally attained as maxima over the G.N. main line; but nothing whatever had been done to prepare it for the enormous increment over these figures that this run was to produce.
1941 June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 263:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| superelevations | Number=Plur | lexicographic |