From Latin 'elatio' (a lifting up) — originally meaning arrogant pride, it gradually shifted to its modern sense of joyful uplift.
Great happiness and exhilaration; a feeling of being lifted up by success, good fortune, or joy.
From Latin 'ēlātiōnem' (a lifting up, exaltation), from 'ēlātus,' past participle of 'efferre' (to carry out, to lift up, to raise), from 'ex-' (out) + 'ferre' (to carry, to bear). Elation is thus literally 'a carrying upward' — the emotion of being lifted. The same Latin components produced 'exalt' (to lift up high), and the spatial metaphor persists: we speak of 'high' spirits, of emotions being 'elevated,' of joy that 'lifts' us. Originally, 'elation' carried negative connotations of excessive pride; the modern
In Middle English, 'elation' was a negative word meaning 'excessive pride' or 'haughtiness' — being 'lifted up' above others in arrogance. It took centuries for the word to shed its moral disapproval and become the purely positive emotion word it is today. The spatial metaphor persists: we still speak of being on a 'high
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