STILT

I. noun Etymology: Middle English ~e; akin to Old High German stelza ~ Date: 15th century 1. one of two poles each with a rest or strap for the foot used to elevate the wearer above the ground in walking, a pile or post serving as one of the supports of a structure above ground or water level, any of several very 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, II. transitive verb Date: 1649 to raise on or as if on ~s