Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for STAIR
STAIR, n. [D. steiger; Sax. stæger; from Sax. stigan, D. and G. steigen, Goth. steigan, to step, to go; Dan. stiger, to rise, to step up; Sw. steg, a step; Ir. staighre. See Stage.]
- A step; a stone or a frame of boards or planks by which a person rises one step. A stair, to make the ascent easy should not exceed six or seven inches in elevation. When the riser is eight, nine or ten inches in breadth, the ascent by stairs is laborious.
- Stairs, in the plural, a series of steps by which persons ascend to a higher room in a building. [Stair, in this sense, is not in use.] Flight of stairs, may signify the stairs which make the whole ascent of a story; or in winding stairs, the phrase may signify the stairs from the floor to a turn, or from one turn to another.
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