Staircase
/ˈstɛr.keɪs/noun
A flight of stairs, especially within a building, often with a landing or surrounding structure.
Did you know?The word is a later English compound built from **stair** plus **case**, and its history is mundane rather than occult — but it still reflects how English loves to package old words into new forms.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ster-
“to spread, stretch out”
Old English
OE
stǣger
“a stair, step, or flight of steps”
Middle English
ME
staire / staire(s)
“a step or flight of steps”
14th Century
English
stair-cas
“a case or enclosure for stairs”
Modern English
English
staircase
“a flight of stairs, especially with its enclosing structure”