Stair (@stâr), n. [OE. steir, steyer, AS. stǣger, from stīgan to ascend, rise. √164. 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.” Chaucer's 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 sta@irs(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.