I'm looking for a word that describes a generic change in altitude, something that could refer to both ascent or descent.
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2"altitude change"– OldcatCommented Apr 30, 2014 at 17:45
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1Can you provide more context? An example sentence?– James KingsberyCommented Apr 30, 2014 at 17:54
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How about "ambiscent"?– Sven YargsCommented Apr 30, 2014 at 18:39
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Context would help, but "yaw" can be a verb as well as a noun, and could fit. If you're not sure your audience will understand "yaw," you could try "vertical movement/motion". (Yaw refers to movement outside the primary axis of movement, so means vertical movement for an airplane, but not for everything.)– francesCommented Apr 30, 2014 at 18:53
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1@frances My dictionary says that "yaw" is "twist or oscillate about a vertical axis". Pilots use it when they're turning, not changing altitude. Changing the horizontal angle is "pitch".– BarmarCommented May 1, 2014 at 16:08
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1 Answer
If you really need a single, attested word, maybe consider climbing ?
Though unadorned climbing is usually an ascent, mountaineers climb up and climb down mountains.
Advantages: short, natural, well-attested, easily-understood word. Useful in non-technical contexts, particularly if room for elaboration or qualification is available.
Disadvantages: implicit bias to ascent without qualification: a weakness in a technical context. Would be misunderstood in aeronautics.