> I looked it up (I know, I know, I have way too much time on my hands) and
> found that Escalator used to be a trademark name when the things first came
> along.

According to *my* dictionary, 'escalator' comes from 'escalade', a French word meaning "to climb a wall using a ladder" (ultimately from the Latin 'scala', "ladder").

> I thought it would have been related to all the "scale"-type words that
> come from Latin "scala" (ladder) but nope, all an invention of some obscure
> marketing department.

The two are not mutually exclusive, you know. :o)

> The verb "to escalate", in fact, is a fairly recent one which originated from the
> trademark once escalators became common.

Let me check... well, my dictionary agrees that 'escalate' came from 'escalator', but still no mention of trademarks and such.

Pa"my other dictionary is also an Oxford"ul