Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Stairs |
StairsNoun1. A way of access consisting of a set of steps. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "stairs" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1200. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of passing up a stairs, foretells good fortune and much happiness. If you fall down stairs, you will be the object of hatred and envy. To walk down, you will be unlucky in your affairs, and your lovemaking will be unfavorable. To see broad, handsome stairs, foretells approaching riches and honors. To see others going down stairs, denotes that unpleasant conditions will take the place of pleasure. To sit on stair steps, denotes a gradual rise in fortune and delight. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Stairs, staircase, stairway, flight of stairs are all names for a construction to bridge a vertical distance by dividing it into small ones, steps.
Usage
They are in buildings and used for smaller vertical distances, and as physical exercise, and in the case of emergencies (some stairways, especially on the outside of a building, are only for emergencies, as fire-escape). Stairways may be straight or round, or sometimes consisting of two straight pieces with a corner.Sometimes there are stairs on a hiking path, avoiding more difficult climbing and also the detour that vehicles have to take.
Stairways are also used to enter and leave some vehicles. They may be a separate object or part of the vehicle, either fixed or foldable/retractable. There are also stairways in double-decker vehicles, and small ones in vehicles with a floor that is not everywhere at the same level.
Stairs are not suitable for wheelchairs and other vehicles. A stairlift is a mechanical device for lifting people and wheelchairs up and down stairs. For sufficiently wide stairs, a rail is mounted to the treads of the stairs. A chair or lifting platform is attached to the rail. A person on the chair or platform is lifted as the chair or plaform moves along the rail. Specialized rails are required for circular stairs or for change in stair directions on a landing. Wheelchairs may require special attachments and wider stairs.
Special stairways are an escalator and a ladder.
Alternatives are an elevator and an inclined moving sidewalk.
In larger and older houses, in addition to the main stairs there may be service stairs. The main stairs would be ornate, and usually opening onto the main foyer. Guests and the home owners would use the main stairs. Household staff would use the service stairs in the back of the house. Service stairs are usually enclosed and utilitarian. They are often steeper than the main stairs. Building code restrictions on the main stairs may not apply to the service stairs. Stairs to attic or basement may also be classified as service stairs for building code purposes.
Components and terminology
Step
The step is composed of the tread and riser.
- tread - The part of the step that is stepped on. It is constructed to the same specifications (thickness) as any other flooring. The tread "length" is measured from the outer edge of the step to the vertical "riser" between steps.
- riser - The vertical portion of the step between steps. This may be missing for an "open" stair effect.
- nosing - An edge part of the tread that protrudes from the riser beneath. If it is present, this means that horizontally, the total "run" length of the stairs is not simply the sum of the tread lengths, the treads actually overlap each other slightly
- bullnose - Where stairs are open on one or both sides, the first step above the lower floor may be wider than the other steps and rounded. The rounded portion of the step is called a "bullnose". The pickets typically form a semi-circle around the circumference of the bullnose and the handrail has a horizontal spiral called a "volute". Besides the cosmetic appeal, bow noses allow the pickets to form a wider, more stable base for the end of the handrail. Handrails that simply end at a post at the foot of the stairs are usually unstable, even with a thick post. A double bullnose can be used when both sides of the stairs are open.
- winders - Winders are steps that are narrower on one side than the other. They are used to change the direction of the stairs without landings. A series of winders form a circular or spiral stairway.
- stringer or sometimes just string - The structural member that supports the treads. There are typically two stringers, one on either side of the stairs; though the treads may be supported many other ways. The stringers are notched so that the risers and treads fit into them. Stringers on open sided stairs are often open themselves so that the treads are visible from the side. Such stringers are called "cut" stringers. Stringers on a closed side of the stairs are closed, with the support for the treads routed into the stringer.
- trim - Trim (e.g. quarter-round or baseboard trim) is normally applied where walls meet floors. Within a flight of stairs there is no trim as the trim thickness will significantly eat into the tread length. Shoe moulding may be used between the lower floor and the first riser. Trimming a bullnose is a special challenge as the last riser above the lower floor is rounded. Today, special flexible, plastic trim is available for this purpose. Scotia is concave moulding that is underneath the nosing between the riser and the tread above it.
The railing system
The balustrade is the complete system of railings and pickets that prevents people from falling over the edge:Handrails may be continuous or post-to-post (or more accurately newel to newel). For continuous handrails on long balconies, there may be multiple newels and tandem caps cover the newels. At corners, there are quarter-turn caps. For post-to-post systems, the newels project above the handrails.
- banister, railing or handrail - The angled member for handholding, as distinguished from the vertical pickets which hold it up for stairs that are open on one side; there is often a railing on both sides, sometimes only on one side or not at all, on wide staircases there is sometimes also one in the middle, or even more. The term "banister" is sometimes used to mean just the handrail, or sometimes the handrail and the balusters or sometimes just the balusters[1].
- volute - A handrail for the bullnose step that is shaped like a spiral. Volutes may be right or lefthanded depending on which side of the stairs they occur when facing up the stairs.
- turnout - Instead of a complete spiral volute, a turnout is a quarter-turn rounded end to the handrail.
- gooseneck - The vertical handrail that joins a sloped handrail to a higher handrail on the balcony or landing is a gooseneck.
- rosette - Where the handrail ends in the wall and a half-newel is not used, it may be trimmed by a rosette.
- easings - Wall handrails are mounted directly onto the wall with wall brackets. At the bottom of the stairs such railings flare to a horizontal railing and this horizontal portion is called a "starting easing". At the top of the stairs, the horizontal portion of the railing is called a "over easing".
- core rail - Wood handrails often have a metal core to provide extra strength and stiffness, especially when the rail has to curve against the grain of the wood. The archaic term for the metal core is "core rail".
- baluster - A term for the vertical pickets that hold the handrail. Sometimes simply called guards or spindles. Treads often require two balusters. The second baluster is closer to the riser and is taller than the first. The extra height in the second baluster is typically in the middle between decorative elements on the baluster. That way the bottom decorative elements are aligned with the tread and the top elements are aligned with the railing angle. However, this means the first and second balusters are manufactured separately and cannot be interchanged. Balusters without decorative elements can be interchanged.
- newel - A large picket or post used to anchor the handrail. Since it is a structural element, it extends below the floor and subfloor to the bottom of the floor joists and is bolted right to the floor joist. A half-newel may be used where a railing ends in the wall. Visually, it looks like half the newel is embedded in the wall. For open landings, a newel may extend below the landing for a decorative newel drop.
- baserail - For systems where the baluster does not start at the treads, they go to a baserail. This allows for identical balusters, avoiding the second baluster problem.
- fillet - This is a decorative filler piece on the floor between balusters on a balcony railing.
Other terminology
- balcony - For stairs with an open concept upper floor or landing, the upper floor is functionally a balcony. For a straight flight of stairs, the balcony may be long enough to require multiple newels to support the length of railing. In modern homes, it is common to have hardwood floors on the first floor and carpet on the second. The homeowner should consider using hardwood nosing in place of carpet. Should the carpet be subsequently replaced with hardwood, the balcony balustrade may have to be removed to add the nosing.
- landing or platform - A landing is structurally an intermediate floor between flights of stairs. This is typically used to allow stairs to change directions, or to allow the user a rest. Landings consume floor space and they are structurally floors thus can be quite expensive to build. However, changing the direction of the stairs allows stairs to fit where they would not otherwise, or provides privacy to the upper level as visitors downstairs cannot simply look up the stairs to the upper level due to the change in direction.
- runner - Carpetting that runs down the middle of the stairs. Runners may be directly stapled or nailed to the stairs, or may be secured by specialized bar that holds the carpet in place where the tread meets the riser.
- spandrel - If there is not another flight of stairs immediately underneath, the triangular space underneath the stairs is called a "spandrel". It is most often used as a closet.
- stairwell - This is the space in the building where the stairs are constructed. This may require special structural design so that the floors around the stairwell do not require structural walls so that the stairs themselves are open to the floors.
- staircase - This term is often reserved for the stairs themselves: the steps, railings and landings; though often it is used interchangeably with "stairs" and "stairway".
- stairway - This term is often reserved for the entire stairwell and staircase in combination; though often it is used interchangeably with "stairs" and "staircase".
Measurements
Stair measurements:
- The rise height of each step is measured from the top of one tread to the next. It is not the physical height of the riser which excludes the thickness of the tread.
- The tread depth or length is measured from the edge of the nosing to the vertical riser. It is sometimes called the going.
- The total run of the stairs is the horizontal distance from the first riser to the last riser. It is not simply the sum of the individual tread lengths due to the nosing overlapping between treads.
- The total rise of the stairs is the height between floors (or landings) that the flight of stairs is spanning.
- The slope of the stairs is the total rise divided by the total run (not the individual riser and treads due to the nosing). It is sometimes called the rake or pitch of the stairs. The pitch line is the imaginary line along the tip of the nosing of the treads.
- Headroom is the height above the nosing of a tread to the ceiling above it.
- Walkline\ - For curved stairs, the inner radius of the curve may result in very narrow treads. The "walkline" is the imaginary line some distance away from the inner edge on which people are expected to walk. Building code will specify the distance. Building codes will then specify the minimum tread size at the walkline.
- The number of steps in a set of stairs is always the number of risers, not the number of treads to avoid confusion.
Ergonomics and Building Code Requirements
Ergonomically and for safety reasons, stairs have to have certain measurements in order for people to comfortably use them. Building codes will typically specify certain measurements so that the stairs are not too steep or narrow. Building codes will specify [1]:Jacques Francois Blondel in his 1771 Cours d’architecture [1]was the first known person to establish the ergonomic relationship of tread and riser dimensions[1].
- minimum tread length, typically 9 inches including the nosing. Paradoxically, most human feet are longer than 9 inches, thus people's feet don't actually fit on the tread of the step.
- maximum riser height, typically 8.25 inches. Note that by specifying the maximum riser height and minimum tread length, a maximum slope is established. Residential building codes will typically allow for steeper stairs than public building codes.
- variance on riser height and tread depth between steps on the same flight should be very low. Building codes may specify variances as small as 0.25 inches. The reason is that on a continuous flight of stairs, people get use to a regular step and may trip if there is a step that is different, especially at night. The general rule is that all steps on the same flight must be identical. Hence, stair are typically custom made to fit the particular floor to floor height and horizontal space available. Special care must be taken on the first and last risers. Stairs must be supported directly by the subfloor. If thick flooring (e.g. thick hardwood planks) are added on top of the subfloor, it will cover part of the first riser, reducing the effective height of the first step. Likewise at the top step, if the top riser simply reaches the subfloor and thick flooring is added, the last rise at the top may be higher than the last riser.
- maximum nosing protrusion, typically 1.25 inches to prevent people from tripping on the nosing. Another reason for limiting the nosing is that the nosing effectively reduces the tread width of the next lower step.
- height of the handrail. This is typically between 34 and 38 inches, measured to the nose of the tread. The minimum height of the handrail for landings may be different and is typically 36 inches.
- railing diameter. The size has to be comfortable for grasping and is typically between 1.25 inches and 2.675 inches.
- maximum space between the pickets of the handrail. This is typically 4 inches.
- openings (if they exist) between the bottom rail and treads are typically no bigger than 6 inches.
- minimum headroom
- maximum vertical height between floors or landings. This allows people to rest and limits the height of a fall.
- mandate handrails if there is more than a certain number of steps (typically 2 risers)
- minimum width of the stairway, with and without handrails
- not allow doors to swing over steps; the arc of doors must be completely on the landing/floor.
Forms
Stairs can take infinite number of forms, combining winders and landings.The simplest form is the straight flight of stairs, without any winders nor landings. It is not often used in modern homes because:
Most modern stairs incorporate at least one landing. A "L" shaped stairs have one landing and a change in direction by 90 degrees. "U" shaped stairs may employ a single wider landings for a change in direction of 180 degrees, or 2 landings for two changes in direction of 90 degress each. Use of landings and a change of direction have the following advantages:
- The upstairs is directly visible from the bottom of a straight flight of stairs.
- It is dangerous in that a fall is not stopped until the bottom of the stairs
- A straight flight requries enough space for the entire run of the stairs
Spiral stairs wind around a central pole. They typically do not have an inner handrail, just the central pole. A squared spiral stair assumes a square stairwell and expands the steps and railing to a square, resulting in asymmetric steps. A pure spiral assumes a circular stairwell and the steps and handrail are regular and symmetric. A tight spiral stair with a central pole is very space efficient in the use of floor area.
- The upstairs is not directly visible from the bottom of the stairs, providing more privacy for the upper floor.
- Falls are arrested at the landings
- Even though the landings consume total floor space, there is no large single dimension, allowing better floorplan designs
Helical or circular stairs do not have a central pole and there is a handrail on the inner side.
Both spiral and helical stairs can be characterized by the number of turns that are made. A "quarter-turn" stair deposits the person facing 90 degrees from the starting orientation. Likewise there are half-turn, three-quarters-turn and full-turn stairs. A continuous spiral may make many turns depending on the height.
Winders may be used in combination with straight stairs to turn the direction of the stairs. This allows for an infinite number of permutations.
Alternating tread stairs
Where there is insufficient space for the full run length of normal stairs, alternating tread stairs may be used. Alternating tread stairs are a recent invention that allows for safe forward-facing descent of very steep stairs. The treads are designed such that they alternate between treads for each foot: one step is wide on the left side; the next step is wide on the right side. There is insufficient space on the narrow portion of the step for the other foot to stand, hence the person must always use the correct foot on the correct step. The slope of alternating tread stairs can be as high as 65% as opposed to standard stairs which are almost always less than 45%. The advantage of alternating tread stairs is that people can descend face forward. The only other alternative in such short spaces would be a ladder which requires backward-facing descent. Clearly alternating tread stairs may not be safe for small children, the elderly or the physically challenged. Building codes typically classify them as ladders and will only allow them were ladders are allowed
Longest Stairway
The longest stairway is listed by Guinness Book of Records as the service stairway for the Niesenbahn funicular railway near Spiez, Switzerland, with 11 674 steps and a height of 1669 metres [1]. The stairs are strictly employee-only.See also Stairway to Heaven.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Stairway."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
STAIRS | English | Storage and Information Retrieval System | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: StairsSynonyms: staircase (n), stairway (n), steps (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Ambush | Ambush, ambuscade; stalking horse; lurking hole, lurking place; secret path, back stairs; retreat; (refuge). |
Ascent | Noun: ascent, ascension; rising; acclivity, hill; flight of steps, flight of stairs; ladder |
Lowness | Adverb: under; beneath, underneath; below; downwards; adown, at the foot of; under foot, under ground; down stairs, below stairs; at a low ebb; below par. |
Method | Steps; stair, staircase; flight of stairs, ladder, stile; perron. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Stairs |
| English words defined with "stairs": agile ♦ Back stairs, Bridgeboard ♦ Cockle stairs ♦ dog-legged ♦ fearfully, flight of stairs ♦ Geometrical staircase, Ghaut, Grise ♦ Hollow newel ♦ Inside finish ♦ newel, newel post, nimble ♦ Pair of stairs ♦ quick ♦ Run of stars ♦ Solid newel, spry, stair-carpet, Stepped, Stringpiece ♦ To help up ♦ Venetian carpet. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "stairs": Antonia ♦ Back-stair Influence ♦ CARPET-LAYER HELPER ♦ DANCERS ♦ electric stairway ♦ Grecian Stairs ♦ HOME ATTENDANT, home health aide ♦ INSTRUCTOR, MODELING ♦ maintenance engineer ♦ pit quarry, Public-house Signs ♦ Red Cap ♦ superintendent, building ♦ TERRAZZO FINISHER, terrazzo helper, terrazzo mechanic helper, terrazzo worker helper ♦ York Stairs. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act and is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door (Scream; writing credit: Kevin Williamson) Nothing! No running up the stairs, no hoverships outside, no clickedy-click of spiders, and do you know why? Because right now the precogs can see nothing (Minority Report; writing credit: Scott Frank) Stairs can be sobering (Charmed; writing credit: Colman deKay) Where do these stairs go (Ghost Busters; writing credit: Dan Aykroyd; Harold Ramis) Those stairs must lead somewhere (Arabesque; writing credit: Gordon Cotler; Julian Mitchell) | |
Lyrics | Climb the stairs up to my room (Pinch Me; performing artist: Barenaked Ladies) She left me roses by the stairs (All the Small Things; performing artist: Blink 182) His stairs don't go right up to the top floor (Never all there; performing artist: General Public) If I find you been creepin' 'round my back stairs (Sundown; performing artist: Gordon Lightfoot) People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don't care ("The Message"; performing artist: Grandmaster Flash) | |
Clever | A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time. (references; author: Mark Twain) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960) Shadows on the Stairs (1941) Up and Down Stairs (1930) Stairs of Sand (1929) The Girl on the Stairs (1925) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Volunteers from a local high school work on the stairs to improve visitor access to the Happy Jack Chalk mine peak Scotia, NE. Credit: USDA. |  | Local high school volunteers works on the stairs for easier access to the peak at the Happy Jack Chalk mine peak Scotia, NE. Credit: USDA. |
 | Pompeys Pillar with stairs. Credit: Unknown. |  | Stairs at Pompeys Pillar/tourists reading interpretive. Credit: Unknown. |
 | [Four children (full length portrait) climbing up and down the stairs of an airplane] Esther Bubley. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Men brandishing sticks over fallen man and confronting man by stairs with pistol. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Woman in oversize dress and man on stairs and letter L. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The golden stairs / Herbert Johnson. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Lobby stairs to waiting room and concourses, C. & N.W. Ry., Chicago, Ill. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Line of African-Americans on stairs during voter registration in Somerville, Tennessee. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Old stairs" by Fabrício Marchezini Commentary: "Vintage looking stairs in the back of my house." | "Alley Stairs" by Shane Ferguson Commentary: "Some old metal stairs." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | Man tripping and falling down a flight of stairs. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Sylvie and Bruno Concluded | Carroll, Lewis | Eric followed me down the stairs, and out into the night |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | They went down the stairs, and, a few seconds afterwards, the sound of the lower door shutting announced that they had gone out. |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | It was indeed a moveable pair of stairs, the lowest end placed at ten feet distance from the wall of the chamber |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Signs placed near elevators can encourage the use of the stairs instead. (references) | |
Bending increases pressure in the eye. You can walk, climb stairs, and do light household chores. (references) | ||
Eventually, patients have difficulty rising from a sitting position, climbing stairs, lifting objects, or reaching overhead. (references) | ||
Children | Argentina | A 1994 law intended to eliminate barriers for persons with disabilities mandates standards regarding access to public buildings, parks, plazas, stairs, and pedestrian areas. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Paul Burrell | It's unusual place. It's a world by itself. It has its own rules and regulations and upstairs-downstairs relations. Life below stairs is just as complicated as life above. |
Trisha Meili | You know, seeing myself have difficulty with things, primarily on the cognitive side. The physical side I was not able to accept and say, all right, so what, you know, I have a little bit of problem walking down stairs, and it's OK, I can deal with it. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | We've seen the greatness of America in rescuers who rushed up flights of stairs toward peril. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Stairs" is generally used as a noun (plural) -- approximately 99.92% of the time. "Stairs" is used about 3,643 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (plural) | 99.92% | 3,640 | 2,672 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.05% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Lexical Verb (-s form) | 0.03% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 3,643 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "stairs" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Stairs | Last name | 1,000 | 17,131 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "stairs": a flight of stairs ♦ a pair of stairs ♦ air stairs ♦ ascend the stairs ♦ back stairs ♦ bellow stairs ♦ below stairs ♦ climb the stairs ♦ Cockle stairs ♦ Corkscrew stairs ♦ down the stairs ♦ flight of stairs ♦ narrow flight of stairs ♦ pair of stairs ♦ run of stairs ♦ spiral stairs ♦ top of the stairs ♦ Trap stairs ♦ up stairs ♦ up the stairs ♦ up two pairs of stairs. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "stairs": below-stairs, Household-below-stairs. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
stairs | 1,019 | stairs winding | 62 |
spiral stairs | 343 | building deck stairs | 54 |
building stairs | 281 | metal stairs | 51 |
build stairs | 257 | build deck stairs | 47 |
attic stairs | 218 | concrete stairs | 47 |
deck stairs | 196 | pool stairs | 46 |
wood stairs | 147 | crystal stairs | 39 |
folding stairs | 122 | hardwood stairs | 38 |
circular stairs | 118 | steel stairs | 35 |
stairs curved | 113 | down pull stairs | 35 |
people under the stairs | 99 | outdoor stairs | 35 |
exterior spiral stairs | 82 | carpet for stairs | 33 |
metal spiral stairs | 77 | oak stairs | 28 |
prefabricated stairs | 73 | custom stairs | 27 |
marble stairs | 72 | exterior stairs | 26 |
wood stairs and railings | 71 | wooden stairs | 26 |
alternating tread stairs | 69 | climbing the stairs | 23 |
wood spiral stairs | 65 | carpeting stairs | 22 |
modular stairs | 65 | wrought iron stairs | 21 |
helix stairs | 64 | attic down pull stairs | 21 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "stairs"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | trap (staircase). (various references) | |
Albanian | varg shkallaresh (flight of stairs), kat (floor, pair of stairs, storey, story). (various references) | |
Arabic | درجة (degree, step), سلالم, درج (calibrate, code, grade, graduate, include, insert, inset, locker, scale, slot, staircase, step, stud, toddle). (various references) | |
Asturian | escaleres. (various references) | |
Basque | eskailera. (various references) | |
Bemba | amasiteyasi. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | стълба (ladder), стълбище (staircase, stairway). (various references) | |
Catalan | escala (staircase). (various references) | |
Cebuano | hagdan. (various references) | |
Chamorro | gua'ot. (various references) | |
Chinese | 階 (eye of an axe, rank or step), 台阶 (stair). (various references) | |
Danish | trappe (staircase). (various references) | |
Dutch | trap (degree, grade, kick, staircase, stairway), opgang (staircase). (various references) | |
Ecuadorian Quechua | chacana. (various references) | |
Esperanto | ŝtuparo (staircase). (various references) | |
Faeroese | trappa (staircase). (various references) | |
Finnish | portaat (staircase, steps). (various references) | |
French | escalier (staircase, stairway, steps). (various references) | |
Frisian | trep. (various references) | |
German | Treppe (flight, flight of stairs, stair, staircase, stairway, stairwayUS, steps, stoop), Treppen (steps). (various references) | |
Greek | σκάλεσ. (various references) | |
Hebrew | גרם המדרגות (flight of stairs, top of the stairs). (various references) | |
Hungarian | lépcsősor (flight of steps, staircase, steps). (various references) | |
Inuktitut | majurautit. (various references) | |
Irish | staighre (stair, staircase). (various references) | |
Italian | scala (graduation, ladder, run, Scala, scale, stair, staircase, stairway, standard). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 階段 , 階段 , 踏み段 (a step), 梯子 (ladder). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ふみだん (a step), かいだん (Buddhist ordination platform, conference, conversation, disbandment, discussion, ghost story, interview), はしご (ladder), ていし (abeyance, adherent, apprentice, ban, cessation, deadlock, disciple, exhibition, follower, interruption, ladder, low-interest funds, pupil, stalemate, standstill, stoppage, suspension, teacher's student-helper, young person). (various references) | |
Korean | 층계 (stair). (various references) | |
Macedonian | stepenici. (various references) | |
Manx | roie greeishyn (flight of stairs), greeish (stair, step on stairs). (various references) | |
Maori | arawhata. (various references) | |
Norwegian | trappe (staircase). (various references) | |
Occitan | escalièr. (various references) | |
Papiamen | trapi (ladder, staircase). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | airsstay.(various references) | |
Polish | schody (staircase). (various references) | |
Portuguese | escadas (a flight of stairs, stair), escada (ladder, stair, staircase, stairway, stile). (various references) | |
Portuguese Brazilian | escadas. (various references) | |
Provencal | escalièr. (various references) | |
Romanian | scarã (a pair of stairs, escalator, flight, footboard, ladder, rank, riser, running board, scale, series, staircase, step, steps, stirrup). (various references) | |
Romansch | stgala. (various references) | |
Ruanda | ingazi. (various references) | |
Russian | лест�, лестница (ladder, stair, staircase, stairway). (various references) | |
Samoan | alasitepu. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | stepenice (stoop). (various references) | |
Spanish | escalera (caracole, ladder, run, sequence, stair, staircase, stairway, step, steps, tailboard). (various references) | |
Sranan | trapu (ladder, snare, staircase, trap). (various references) | |
Swedish | trappa (doorstep, flight of stairs, staircase, steps). (various references) | |
Tagalog | hagdánan (staircase). (various references) | |
Turkish | merdivenler, merdiven (ladder, staircase, stairway, steps). (various references) | |
Turkmen | merdiwan (ladder, stairway). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | сходи (well), трап (drawbridge, ladder). (various references) | |
Welsh | grisiau (staircase). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Sumerian | 3100 BCE-2500 BCE | galam. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Acts Chapter 21, Verse 35 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Ote de egeneto epi touV anabaqmouV sunebh bastazesqai auton upo twn stratiwtwn dia thn bian tou oclou |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Et cum venisset ad gradus contigit ut portaretur a militibus propter vim populi |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And whanne Poul cam to the grees, it bifel that he was borun of kniytis, for strengthe of the puple. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And whe he came vnto a grece it fortuned that he was borne of the soudiers of the violence of the people. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne by the soldiers, for the violence of the people. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And when he came on to the steps, he was lifted up by the armed men, because of the force of the people; |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Acts Chapter 21, Verse 35 |
| Albanian | Dhe kur arriti te shkallaret, ndodhi që, për shkak të dhunës së turmës, duhej të bartej nga ushtarët, |
| Cebuano | Ug sa pag-abut niya sa hagdanan niini, siya gisakwat na lang sa mga sundalo tungod sa kakusog sa hasmag sa mga tawo; |
| Chinese | 到 了 臺 階 上 、 眾 人 擠 得 兇 猛 、 兵 丁 只 得 將 保 羅 抬 起 來 。 |
| Croatian | Kad se Pavao pojavi na stubama, morali su ga vojnici nositi zbog silovitosti svjetine. |
| Danish | Men da han kom på Trappen, gik det således, at han måtte bæres af Stridsmændene på Grund af Skarens Voldsomhed; |
| Dutch | En als hij aan de trappen gekomen was, gebeurde het, dat hij van de krijgsknechten gedragen werd vanwege het geweld der schare. |
| Finnish | Ja kun Paavali tuli portaille, täytyi sotamiesten kantaa häntä kansan väkivallan tähden; |
| French | Lorsque Paul fut sur les degrés, il dut être porté par les soldats, à cause de la violence de la foule; |
| German | Und als er an die Stufen kam, mußten ihn die Kriegsknechte tragen vor Gewalt des Volks; |
| Hungarian | Mikor pedig a lépcsõkhöz jutott, lõn, hogy úgy vivék õt a vitézek a néptömeg erõszaktétele miatt; |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Ketika mereka membawa dia sampai ke tangga, perusuh-perusuh itu mengamuk begitu hebat sehingga Paulus harus digotong oleh para prajurit. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Setelah sampai ke tangga, maka ia pun diusung oleh beberapa laskar, karena rempuh kaum itu. |
| Italian | Quando fu alla gradinata, dovette essere portato a spalla dai soldati a causa della violenza della folla. |
| Maori | A, no tona taenga ki te pikitanga, ka hikitia ia e nga hoia i te taututetutenga hoki a te tangata; |
| Norwegian | Da han nu kom til trappene, blev det slik at han måtte bæres av krigsfolket, så voldsom var hopen; |
| Portuguese | E sucedeu que, chegando às escadas, foi ele carregado pelos soldados por causa da violência da turba. |
| Rumanian | Cknd a ajuns pe trepte, Pavel a trebuit sq fie dus de ostawi, din pricina kmbulzelii norodului kntqrktat; |
| Russian | лПЗДБ ЦЕ ПО ВЩМ ОБ МЕУФОЙГЕ, ФП ЧПЙОБН РТЙЫМПУШ ОЕУФЙ ЕЗП РП РТЙЮЙОЕ УФЕУОЕОЙС ПФ ОБТПДБ, |
| Shuar | Tura suntar pujamunam Wáitiniam jeawar Páprun entsaki Júkiarmiayi aents Imiá kajerainia asamtai. |
| Swahili | Paulo alipofika kwenye ngazi, askari walilazimika kumbeba kwa sababu ya fujo za watu. |
| Swedish | Och när han kom fram till trappan, trängde folket så våldsamt på, att han måste bäras av krigsmännen, |
| Uma | Karata-ra hi tuka' to ngkahe' hilou hi tomi tantara toe, mome'upi' -damo ntodea pai' ngasa' mpu'u-ra doko' mpopatehi Paulus. Toe pai' Paulus kana ra'ongko' pai' rahorongko tantara. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words ending with "stairs": backstairs, downstairs, upstairs. (additional references) | |
| |
"Stairs" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: staids, stails, stais, staits, Stari, staries, starrs, staxis, steir, Stiris, stours, tairs. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "stairs" (pronounced ste"rz) |
| 5 | s t e" r z | downstairs, stares, upstairs. |
| 4 | -t e" r z | tears. |
| 3 | -e" r z | affairs, airs, bares, bears, billionaires, blares, cares, chairs, compares, dares, declares, despairs, errs, fairs, fares, flares, glares, hairs, hares, heirs, impairs, Mairs, mares, millionaires, multimillionaires, pairs, Pares, pears, prayers, prepares, questionnaires, repairs, scares, shares, snares, spares, squares, swears, theirs, unawares, wares, wears. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: sistra, sitars. | |
| Words within the letters "a-i-r-s-s-t" | |
-1 letter: airts, arsis, astir, saris, satis, sitar, stair, stars, stirs, stria, tarsi, trass, tsars. | |
-2 letters: airs, airt, aits, arts, rats, rias, sari, sati, sirs, sits, sris, star, stir, tars, tass, tsar. | |
-3 letters: air, ais, ait, ars, art, ass, its, ras, rat, ria, sat, sir, sis, sit, sri, tar, tas, tis. | |
-4 letters: ai, ar, as, at. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-i-r-s-s-t" | |
+1 letter: aorists, aristas, aristos, artists, aurists, instars, racists, rapists, sacrist, santirs, satires, satoris, strains, straits, tarsias, tsarism, tsarist. | |
+2 letters: airposts, amorists, arsonist, artiness, artisans, artistes, artsiest, assister, assistor, asterias, asterisk, asterism, astricts, atresias, britskas, czarists, diarists, diasters, disaster, disparts, disrates, gastrins, harpists, misparts, misrates, misstart, mistrals, narcists, oralists, pastries, piasters, piastres, prosaist, protasis, raspiest, realists, retsinas, sacrists, sacristy, saltiers, saltires, sarkiest, sarodist, sastrugi, satirise, satirist, satyrids, sautoirs, scariest, seriates, shortias, simitars, sitarist, smarties, sparsity, spirants, stainers, starfish, starship, stearins, striates, tarsiers, tissular, traipses, transits, trishaws, trysails, tsarinas, tsarisms, tsarists, turistas, tzarisms, tzarists, upstairs, waisters, waitress, wastries. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Sounds 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Quotations: Spoken | 13. Quotations: Speeches 14. Usage Frequency 15. Names: Frequency 16. Expressions | 17. Expressions: Internet 18. Translations: Modern 19. Translations: Ancient 20. Bible Trace | 21. Abbreviations 22. Acronyms 23. Derivations 24. Rhymes | 25. Anagrams 26. Bibliography |
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