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Glite Dictionary
🙏 A Christian prayer 🛗 A moving elevator
paternoster

paternoster

9.9
An elevator with open compartments that moves continuously so people step on and off
  • noun
  • /ˈpætərˌnɑstər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : paternoster
  • Some people feel nervous using a paternoster for the first time because it never stops moving.

Examples

  • The old office building still has a working paternoster that fascinates visitors.

  • The university decided to keep its historic paternoster as a symbol of tradition and innovation.

  • The paternoster is a unique type of elevator.

  • I took the paternoster to the fifth floor.

  • Many people enjoy the thrill of riding a paternoster because it allows them to step on and off at any floor without waiting.

  • The architectural tour included a stop at a historic paternoster that still operates in the old library building.

  • At the science museum, visitors can experience a paternoster that circles through multiple levels, offering a unique view of each floor.

Synonyms

elevator
vspaternoster
  • US
760 1.0

A machine that carries people and things up and down between floors

is a continuous loop system letting passengers step on and off without stopping

Surface Forms

paternoster singular
paternosters plural

Etymology

Paternoster for the moving lift gets its name from the Latin pater 'father' and noster 'our'. People called the lift this because its open boxes move in a chain like beads on a rosary, and those beads were used to say many 'paternosters', so the name stuck.