escalator
a moving staircase
Root
- scala / scale: ladder, stair, step, or climbing by steps
Other words with the scala / scale root
Escalator keeps the stair image familiar: a machine that carries you upward step by step.
The airport escalator lifted tired travelers toward the gate.
Escalator makes the root physical. Escalate turns that upward motion into prices, tensions, or risks rising step by step.