Have you ever thought why high-rise buildings are called skyscrapers? Read the text and find the answer.

Before skyscraper was used for buildings with an exciting height, the word was already in use for things sticking into the air, such as a triangular sky-sail (first recorded use in 1794), a high-standing horse (1788), a very tall man (1857), a rider on one of the very high cycles formerly in use (1892) or an tall hat or bonnet, (1800).”As a word for a very tall man, Gerard Peet points out that the Italian word grattacielo, meaning: scraping the sky and the modern day Italian word for a skyscraper, was in use since the early 13th century and suggested that as a loan-translation from Italian, it made its way into the English language.

The first high-rise buildings were constructed in the United States in the 1880s. They arose in urban areas where increased land prices and great population densities created a demand for buildings that rose vertically rather than spread horizontally, thus occupying less precious land area. High-rise buildings were made practicable by the use of steel structural frames and glass exterior sheathing. By the mid-20th century, such buildings had become a standard.