The act of climbing up, getting on top of, or increasing in intensity. Can also refer to a framework used to hold or display something.
From Old French 'monter', derived from Latin 'montare' meaning to climb a mountain, from 'mons' (mountain). The meaning expanded from literal climbing to various forms of ascending, attaching, or increasing.
Every time you 'mount' a picture on a wall, you're etymologically putting it on a mountain - the word retains its ancient connection to peaks and elevation. The phrase 'mounting pressure' beautifully captures how stress literally 'climbs up' like scaling a mountain.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.