Stair
stair (?), n. (OE. steir,steyer, AS. st?ger, from ?igan to ascend,
rise. r164. See Sty to ascend.) 1.
One step of a series for ascending or descending to a different
level; -- commonly applied to those within a building.
2. A series of steps, as for passing from one
story of a house to another; -- commonly used in the plural; but
originally used in the singular only. I a winding stair
found. Chaucers Dream.
Below stairs, in the basement or lower part
of a house, where the servants are. -- Flight of
stairs, the stairs which make the whole ascent of a
story. -- Pair of stairs, a set or flight
of stairs. -- pair, in this phrase, having its old meaning of a
set. See Pair, n., 1. --
Run of stars (Arch.), a single set of
stairs, or section of a stairway, from one platform to the next.
-- Stair rod, a rod, usually of metal, for
holding a stair carpet to its place. -- Up
stairs. See Upstairs in the Vocabulary.
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