above stairs

English

Alternative forms

(noun, adjective): abovestairs

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA: /əˈbʌv stɜɹs/

Adverb

above stairs (not comparable)

  1. (archaic) upstairs; in or on an upper floor.[1]
    • 1749: Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
      The physician now arrived, and began to inquire of the two disputants, how we all did above-stairs? "In a miserable way," answered Thwackum.
    • 1877: Henry James, The American
      She took him to a room above-stairs, and introduced him to a bed on which a magnified bolster, in yellow calico, figured as a counterpane.
    • 1901: M. P. Shiel, The Lord of the Sea
      He was found above-stairs in an empty room, searching the floor for something.

References

  1. ^ 1976 [1909], Gove, Philip Babcock editor, Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged, Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., ISBN 0-87779-101-5, page 5:
Last modified on 8 November 2012, at 02:09