Where does “staircase” come from?
Staircase is a compound of stair and case, where case comes from Middle English cas, Old French cas, Latin casus meaning "a fall or chance occurrence," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European keh₂p- meaning "to seize."
staircase (English): A flight of stairs; a stairway; A connected set...
Definitions
- A flight of stairs; a stairway; A connected set...
Ancestry of “staircase”, step by step
staircase traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Case
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Case | abstract feature of a noun phrase that determines... |
| 2 | German | Käse | cheese; nonsense |
| 3 | Middle High German | kæse | cheese |
| 4 | Old High German | kāsi | cheese |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kāsī | cheese |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kāsijaz | cheese |
| 7 | Latin | cāseus | cheese |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kwat- | to ferment, become sour; to boil |