Where does “stairs” come from?
Stairs comes from Middle English steire, Old English stǣġer, and Proto-Germanic staigriz, all descended from Proto-Indo-European steygʰ-, meaning to climb or mount.
stairs (English): plural of stair; API pl; A contiguous set of...
Definitions
- plural of stair; API pl; A contiguous set of...
Ancestry of “stairs”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | stair | A single step in a staircase; A series of steps;... |
| 2 | Middle English | steire | staircase, stairs; stair, step; ladder |
| 3 | Old English | stǣġer | stair, staircase |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | staigriz | scaffold, platform; stairs |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | steyǵʰ- | — |
Words derived from “stairs”