The Spanish word 'alzada', meaning 'height' or 'elevation', traces back to the Latin adjective 'altus' meaning 'high'. This evolved into the Vulgar Latin verb '*altiare' meaning 'to raise', which then developed into the Spanish verb 'alzar' (to raise). The noun 'alzada' was formed by combining 'alzar' with the Spanish past participle suffix '-ada', effectively creating a noun that refers to the result of raising something - its height or elevation.

A simpler and more common Spanish word that shares this etymology is the verb 'alzar', meaning 'to raise, lift up, or elevate'. This is actually the base verb from which 'alzada' is derived. Another related word is 'alto' (high, tall), which comes more directly from the Latin 'altus'.

While English 'altitude' and 'alt' (as in 'alt key' on a keyboard) are related to this word through the same Latin root 'altus', they followed a different path into English, being borrowed directly from Latin rather than evolving through Vulgar Latin and Spanish. The connection is clear in their shared meaning relating to height or elevation.