STAIRS
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noun
1.
one of a flight or series of steps for going from one level to another, as in a building.
2.
stairs, such steps collectively, especially as forming a flight or a series of flights: I was so excited I ran all the way up the stairs.
3.
a series or flight of steps; stairway: a winding stair.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English stey(e)r, Old English stǣger; cognate with Dutch, Low German steiger landing; akin to sty1
before 1000; Middle English stey(e)r, Old English stǣger; cognate with Dutch, Low German steiger landing; akin to sty1
Related forms
stair·less, adjective
stair·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To stairs
00:10
Stairs
is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
stair (stɛə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | one of a flight of stairs |
| 2. | a series of steps: a narrow stair |
| [Old English stæger; related to stīg narrow path, stīgan to ascend, descend, Old Norse steigurligr upright, Middle Dutch steiger ladder] | |
| stairs (stɛəz) | |
| —pl n | |
| 1. | a flight of steps leading from one storey or level to another, esp indoors |
| 2. | (Brit) below stairs in the servants' quarters; in domestic service |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
stair
O.E. stæger "flight of steps," also "a single step," from P.Gmc. *staigri (cf. O.N., O.Fris. stiga, M.Du. stighen, O.H.G. stigan, Ger. steigen, Goth. steigan "to go up, ascend;" O.E. stigan "to climb, go;" Ger. Steig "path," O.E. stig "narrow path"), from PIE *steigh- "go, rise, stride, step, walk"
(cf. Gk. steikhein "to go, march in order," stikhos "row, line, rank, verse;" Skt. stighnoti "mounts, rises, steps;" O.C.S. stignati "to overtake," stigna "place;" Lith. staiga "suddenly;" O.Ir. tiagaim "I walk;" Welsh taith "going, walk, way"). Originally also a collective plural; stairs developed by 1398. OED says stair still is ordinary in Scotland where flight of stairs would be used elsewhere. Staircase is from 1624, originally the enclosure of the stairs; stairway is from 1767.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
To cover this distance by foot, walk to the outdoor stairway at the edge of the tunnel and climb the stairs.
Perfect for abodes that are short on space or long on stairs.
Four frames later, secret policemen are climbing the stairs to arrest him, and the article is never mentioned again.
We walk up the concrete stairs to a little anteroom on the next floor.
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