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staircase |
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stairwayor staircaseSeries or flight of steps that provides a means of moving from one level to another. The earliest stairways seem to have been built with walls on both sides, as in Egyptian pylons dating from the 2nd millennium BC. The Romans were noted for their monumental stairs. The modern use of steel and reinforced concrete has made possible the curves and sweeps of contemporary design. Staircases have traditionally been built of wood, marble or stone, and iron or steel. A step's horizontal surface is called its tread, the vertical front its riser. Traditional wooden staircases are constructed with stringers, beams inclined to the angle of the staircase. Stringers are supported by newel posts, which also support the handrail, forming a balustrade. staircase a flight of stairs, its supporting framework, and, usually, a handrail or banisters
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| A carved balustrade, freshly painted in the lower stories, but growing dingier as we ascend, borders the staircase with its quaintly twisted and intertwined pillars, from top to bottom. The doorway of the staircase gives on the little courtyard close to the left here," pointing with his hand, "near to the window of my establishment. Sparsit, in her chamber window, resting from her packing operations, looked towards her great staircase and saw Louisa still descending. |
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