A mechanical device consisting of a series of chairs suspended from a moving cable, used to transport people up or down mountains, especially at ski resorts.
Combines 'chair' (a seat) with 'lift' (to raise or elevate, from Old Norse 'lypta'). The term was coined in the mid-20th century for this ski resort technology, combining two simple concepts into one compound word.
The chairlift was invented in the 1930s in Switzerland, and it revolutionized skiing by letting people get to the top of mountains without exhausting climbs—it's a brilliant example of how a simple idea (hanging chairs from a cable) solves a real problem.
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