ladder

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlad.ə/ (UK); /ˈlæd.ɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English laddere, inherited from Old English hlǣder (“ladder, steps”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *hlaidri,^[3][2] source also of Dutch leer and German Leiter,^[3][2][4] from a suffixed form of Proto-Indo-European *klei-, to lean (see lean),^[3][2][4] source also of Greek κλῖμαξ (klîmax, “ladder”) (see climax).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An appliance of two side pieces and rungs for climbing: 971.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Figurative use, a means of rising, is from late Old English (about 1175).^[3][5] In late Old English the rungs were læddrestæfas and the side pieces ledder steles.^[3] The steps to a gallows are from before 1533.^[5] A run in a knitted garment or stocking is from 1838,^[5] and in naval gunnery a series of range-finding shots from 1922.^[5] The superstitious avoidance of walking under a ladder is attested by 1787.^[3] The verb, to scale with a ladder, is late Middle English, and of stockings, to develop a ladder, is later.^[6]

Timeline

• 971 – a ladder.^[5]
• c. 1175 – a means of rising (figurative).^[5]
• before 1533 – the gallows steps.^[5]
• 1787 – unlucky to walk under.^[3]
• 1838 – a ladder in a stocking.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A structure of two long sides joined by rungs, used for climbing up or down.
2. A series of ranked stages: the social ladder.
3. (chiefly British) A run in a stocking or knitted fabric.

Verb

1. Of stockings, to develop a run.

Word family

• ladderlike
• ladderless
• ladderman
• ladderway
• ladder-back
• stepladder
• accommodation ladder
• aerial ladder

Related words

• climax
• clinic
• lean
• incline

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press