English

Alternative forms

• above-stairs

(noun, adjective): abovestairs

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.

Translations

References

1. ↑ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], ISBN 0-87779-101-5), page 5