ˈsta(a)](ə)r, ˈste], ]ə\ noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English steir, steyer, from Old English stǣger; akin to Middle Dutch steger, steiger ladder, stair, Old English stīg narrow path, stīgan to move, go up or down, Old High German stīgan to go up, rise, Old Norse stīga, Gothic steigan to go up, rise, Old Irish tīagu I walk, Greek steichein to walk, go, Sanskrit stighnoti he goes up, rises
1. : a series of steps or flights of steps connected by landings for passing from one level to another
a steep stair … provided access to the upper floor attics — G.E.Fussell
climbing down the steep and tortuous stair — H.S.Morrison
— often used in plural but sing. or plural in constr.
a narrow private stairs to connect the upper and lower rooms — Lewis Mumford
lurked at the foot of one stairs — New Yorker
ascended a stairs — Scott Fitzgerald
2.
a. : any one step of a series for ascending or descending to a different level (as within a building)
b. obsolete : a step by which one progresses or may progress from one stage or elevation to another (as in rank, dignity, preferment, wealth, or power)
3. stairs plural : landing stage