To lift or pull something up using mechanical equipment like ropes, pulleys, or a crane. Can also mean to raise a flag or banner ceremonially.
From Middle Dutch 'hijsen' or Low German 'hissen', meaning 'to hoist' or 'to raise'. The word entered English through maritime contexts where lifting sails and cargo was essential to ship operation.
The phrase 'hoist by your own petard' shows how this mechanical word gained metaphorical power - the idea of being lifted or destroyed by your own device captures the irony of self-defeating actions perfectly. Shakespeare gave this lifting word a literary afterlife.
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