[stilt] n [ME stilte; akin to OHG stelza stilt] (15c) 1 a: one of two poles each with a rest or strap for the foot used to elevate the wearer above the ground in walking b: a pile or post serving as one of the supports of a structure above ground or water level
2. pl also stilt : any of various notably long-legged 3-toed shorebirds (genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus) that are related to the avocets, frequent inland ponds and marshes, and nest in small colonies
[2]stilt vt (1649): to raise on or as if on stilts