c.1200, from Old Norse lypta "to raise," from Proto-Germanic *luftijan (cognates: Middle Low German lüchten, Dutch lichten, German lüften "to lift;" Old English lyft "heaven, air," see loft). The meaning "steal" (as in shop-lift) is first recorded 1520s. Related: Lifted; lifting.

late 15c., "act of lifting," from lift, v.. Meaning "act of helping" is 1630s; that of "cheering influence" is from 1861. Sense of "elevator" is from 1851; that of "upward force of an aircraft" is from 1902. Meaning "help given to a pedestrian by taking him into a vehicle" is from 1712.