staighre

Irish

Staighre

Alternative forms

• sdaighre (obsolete)
• staidhre (nonstandard)

Etymology

From Middle English steire, from Old English stǣġer (“stair, staircase”), from Proto-West Germanic *staigri, from Proto-Germanic *staigriz (“stairs, scaffolding”), from Proto-Indo-European *steygʰ- (“to walk, proceed, march, climb”). Cognate with Scottish Gaelic staidhre.

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ˈsˠt̪ˠɑiɾʲə/
• (Connacht, Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈsˠt̪ˠaiɾʲə/

Noun

staighre f (genitive singular staighre, nominative plural staighrí)

1. stairs (contiguous set of steps), a stairway

Declension

Declension of staighre (fourth declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative staighre staighrí vocative a staighre a staighrí genitive staighre staighrí dative staighre staighrí forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an staighre na staighrí genitive na staighre na staighrí dative leis an staighre don staighre leis na staighrí

Derived terms

• staighre beo (“escalator”)
• staighre bíse (“spiral staircase”)
• thíos an staighre (“downstairs”)
• thuas an staighre (“upstairs”)

 

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “staiġre”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 690
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “staighre”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN