Etymologically
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downstairs

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 17:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /daʊnˈstɛəz/[1]
  • US: /daʊnˈstɛɹz/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English down + stair + -s, from the prepositional phrase down the stairs;[2][3][4][5] the OED takes it partly as down with the plural of stair, partly as down with the singular, which gives the variant downstair.[6] Compare upstairs.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Down the stairs; on or to a lower floor: 1598, in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1.[6] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1596,[4] and Etymonline to the 1590s.[2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective, situated on a lower floor, is recorded from 1702,[6] and by 1819 it also referred to the servants' quarters and so to what was lower-class or unrefined;[6][4][2] the noun, the downstairs part of a building or the servants who lived there, follows in 1841 in the OED, 1843 in Merriam-Webster and Etymonline.[6][4][2] The OED notes a 1633 commentary by T. Adams saying that "Hell is downe staires", after the tradition that hell is reached by going down steps,[6] and the adverb meant "in or to hell" from the 1840s.[6][7] Boxers used it from 1900 for a blow to the belly,[6] and since 1942 it has been a euphemism for the genital area.[6][7] In aeronautics it can mean on or to the ground.[4]

Timeline

  • 1598 – adverb, down the stairs; on or to a lower floor.[6]
  • 1702 – adjective, on a lower floor.[6]
  • 1819 – relating to the servants' quarters.[6][4]
  • 1841 – noun, the lower floor; the servants.[6]
  • before 1845 – in or to hell.[6]
  • 1900 – boxing slang, to the belly.[6]
  • 1942 – euphemistic, in the genital area.[6]

Modern meaning

Adverb

  1. Down the stairs; on or to a lower floor: He ran downstairs to answer the door.
  2. (euphemistic) In the genital area.

Adjective

  1. Situated on a lower or the ground floor: a downstairs bathroom.

Noun

  1. The lower floor or floors of a building.
  2. The servants of a household, who lived below stairs.

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com