Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Toby]

Why a 'flight'?

[katydid]

Have you ever fallen down the stairs before?

Well, wait, flight implies something graceful, which falling down the stairs is not.

Maybe it should be called a crumple of stairs or something.

You know what, I really don't know, but interesting question...

[Toby]

My only guess is that a frist floor hall is a landing, and if you land, you must fly, so, a flight before a landing maybe?

[katydid]

Yeah, that's a good point. Also think about sliding down the banister when you were a kid.

[hellofaniceguy]

Flight of stairs...
because you "take off" to go up or down.
Sounded good to me me at least....
Why do we call water...water? Or bread...bread? Or Red...red? because that's the way it's been for centuries!
Why not call water..bread? Or black call it brown.
Some things one just can't explain.

[Derrek]

Flight:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=flight&searchmode=none

Meaning "series of stairs between landings" is from 1703.


Also:


http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=s&p=38

stair Look up stair at Dictionary.com
O.E. st��ger "flight of steps," also "a single step," from P.Gmc. *staigri (cf. O.N., O.Fris. stiga, M.Du. stighen, O.H.G. stigan, Ger. steigen, Goth. steigan "to go up, ascend;" O.E. stigan "to climb, go;" Ger. Steig "path," O.E. stig "narrow path"), from PIE *steigh- "go, rise, stride, step, walk" (cf. Gk. steikhein "to go, march in order," stikhos "row, line, rank, verse;" Skt. stighnoti "mounts, rises, steps;" O.C.S. stignati "to overtake," stigna "place;" Lith. staiga "suddenly;" O.Ir. tiagaim "I walk;" Welsh taith "going, walk, way"). Originally also a collective plural; stairs developed by 1398. OED says stair still is ordinary in Scotland where flight of stairs would be used elsewhere. Staircase is from 1624, originally the enclosure of the stairs; stairway is from 1767.

[Toby]

[Derrek]

Flying between two landings is the closest I could come to it.

That's probably the best explanation you're going to find.

It's difficult to explain today's slang, much less 1700's slang -- which is now common speech.