Where does “abovestairs” come from?
abovestairs (English) comes from English above, from Middle English aboven, from Old English ābufan, from Old English bufan, from Proto-West Germanic *biobanā, from Proto-West Germanic *obanā, from Proto-Germanic ubanē, from Proto-Germanic upp.
abovestairs (English): Alternative form of above stairs
Definitions
- Alternative form of above stairs
Ancestry of “abovestairs”, step by step
abovestairs traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English above
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | above | Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, said... |
| 2 | Middle English | aboven | above |
| 3 | Old English | ābufan | above |
| 4 | Old English | bufan | above |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *biobanā | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *obanā | from above |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | ubanē | from above |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | upp | up, upwards |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | ub | under |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
via English stairs
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stairs | plural of stair; API pl; A contiguous set of... |
| 2 | English | stair | A single step in a staircase; A series of steps;... |
| 3 | Middle English | steire | staircase, stairs; stair, step; ladder |
| 4 | Old English | stǣġer | stair, staircase |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | staigriz | scaffold, platform; stairs |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | steyǵʰ- | to go |