Stair (?), n. [OE. steir, steyer, AS. stger, from igan to ascend, rise. &root;164. See Sty to ascend.]
One step of a series for ascending or descending to a different level; -- commonly applied to those within a building.
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
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.
© Webster 1913.