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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. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Stairs
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Collins
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"
EXPAND(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.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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