escalier

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French escallier, borrowed (through written form) from Occitan escalier, from Late Latin scālārium (attested in some inscriptions), from substantivation of a plural of scālāris, from Latin scāla (“ladder”), with the locative suffix -ārium. Replaced the older French degrés and montée in this sense.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛs.ka.lje/

• Audio:

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Noun

escalier m (plural escaliers)

1. step, stair
2. staircase

Derived terms

• cage d’escalier
• escalier mécanique
• esprit de l’escalier
• escalier roulant

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: eskalye

Further reading

• “escalier”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• cèlerais
• cisèlera
• éclaires, éclairés