ladder
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈlad.ə/
ipa: /ˈlæd.ɚ/
ipa: [ˈlæɾ.ɚ]
rhymes: -ædə(ɹ)
homophone: latter (with flapping)
Forms: form: ladders
form: ledder
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English ladder, laddre; from Old English hlǣder, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaidriju, from Proto-Germanic *hlaidrijō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlóydʰrom, from *ḱley- (“to lean”).
Compare Scots ledder, North Frisian ladder, Saterland Frisian Laadere, West Frisian ljedder, Dutch ladder, German Leiter; also Old Irish clithar (“hedge”), and Umbrian 𐌊𐌋𐌄𐌈𐌓𐌀𐌌 (kleθram, “stretcher”). See lean, which is related to lid.
Further cognates include Ashkun istrī, Kamkata-viri c̣ik, Prasuni čik, čix; Waigali c̣iř, Sanskrit श्रिति (śrití).
Senses: examples: text: The form of a man was seen to enter, and both the females rushed up the ladder, as if equally afraid of the consequences. The stranger secured the door, and first examining the lower room with great care, he cautiously ascended the ladder.
ref: 1851, J[ames] Fenimore Cooper, “Chapter XXIII”, in The Pathfinder; or, The Inland Sea … Complete in One Volume. Revised and Corrected, with a New Introduction, Notes, &c., by the Author (The Leather-stocking Tales; III), rev. edition, New York, N.Y.: George P[almer] Putnam, 155 Broadway, →OCLC, page 411:
text: Ladders are heavy and unwieldy. Handle them properly to avoid damaging property and to make sure you don't injure yourself. Carry a ladder upright, not slung across your shoulder. Hold the ladder vertically, bend your knees slightly, then rock the ladder back against your shoulder. Grip one rung lower down while you support the ladder at head height with your other hand, and then straighten your knees.
ref: 2009, Albert Jackson, David Day, Popular Mechanics Complete Home How-To, rev. edition, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Books, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., →ISBN, page 31:
text: And why wouldn't I just turn around, not take a chance on the bad luck of walking under a ladder? Because, beyond it, there was Pluckie. My little dog was leashed to a bush, lunging and barking. If the leash came loose, her lunge could send her tumbling down the mountainside.
ref: 2014, Linda O. Johnston, Lost under a Ladder, Woodbury, Minn.: Midnight Ink, Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN:
synonyms: stepladder
glosses: A frame, usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, used for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened rungs (cross strips or rounds acting as steps).
examples: text: Newcastle had won both their previous fixtures in 2011 but were terribly disappointing at Broadhall Way against opponents 73 places below them in the footballing ladder.
ref: 2011 January 8, Paul Fletcher, “Stevenage 3 – 1 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016:
glosses: A series of stages by which one progresses to a better position.
examples: text: Many publicly held companies do have good working conditions, but they often employ mostly high-wage workers or offer different levels of working conditions and benefits to management employees than to workers at the bottom of the ladder.
ref: 2010, Jody Heymann, Magda Barrera, Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder: Creating Value by Investing in Your Workforce, Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Press, →ISBN, page 6:
glosses: The hierarchy or ranking system within an organization, such as the corporate ladder.
examples: text: Proposed Standard of Needlework to be required from Pupil-teachers at the Yearly Visits of Her Majesty's Inspectors. […] Darning Stockings.—To show a hole darned, and a thin place "run" (or strengthened), and a ladder properly taken up in a coarse worsted stocking.
ref: 1875, Report of the Committee of Council on Education (England and Wales); with Appendix. 1874–75. Report, and Parts I. to IV. of Appendix. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty. (Reports from Commissioners, Inspectors, and Others: Twenty-seven Volumes; XXIV), volume X (Education), London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, →OCLC, page 54:
text: You've got a huge ladder in your stockings. I've got a spare pair in my bag, come to the Ladies and you can change.
ref: 2008, Åsa Larsson, translated by Marlaine Delargy, The Black Path, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Dell, →ISBN:
synonyms: run
glosses: A length of unravelled fabric in a knitted garment, especially in nylon stockings; a run.
examples: text: The most dramatic introduction to the idea of how stones relate to each other over distance is how players react when a ladder (shicho, "she-ko"^([sic]) in Japanese) [シチョウ (shichō)] develops. […] Ouch! This is finding out about the ladder, which is called that because of the steplike shape that the defending stones are forced into.
ref: 2003, Peter Shotwell, Go! More Than a Game, Boston, Mass.: Tuttle Publishing, →ISBN:
qualifier: go
glosses: A sequence of moves following a zigzag pattern and ultimately leading to the capture of the attacked stones.
Derived terms: word: accommodation ladder
word: aerial ladder
word: angel's ladder
word: Appalachian Jacob's ladder
word: attic ladder
word: Cantril ladder
word: chain-ladder method
word: chicken ladder
word: chutes and ladders
word: coin ladder
word: companion ladder
word: corporate ladder
word: crossed ladders problem
word: DNA ladder
word: downladder
word: fail up the ladder
word: fare ladder
word: fish ladder
word: hook ladder
word: interladder
word: Jacob's ladder
word: ladderane
word: ladderback
word: ladder back
word: ladder-back
word: ladder beam
word: laddered
word: laddergram
word: ladder handle
word: laddering
word: laddering
word: ladderize
word: ladder-laced
word: ladder lacing
word: ladderless
word: ladderlike
word: ladder logic
word: ladder lottery
word: ladderman
word: ladder match
word: ladder mate
word: Ladder of Jacob
word: ladder of opportunity
word: ladder operator
word: ladder polyether
word: ladder school
word: ladder snake
word: ladder stitch
word: laddertron
word: ladder wagon
word: ladder wall
word: ladderway
word: ladderwise
word: laddery
word: loft ladder
word: monkey ladder
word: on the ladder
word: peg ladder
word: pencil ladder
word: property ladder
word: pull the ladder up after oneself
word: pull the ladder up behind oneself
word: pull up the ladder
word: rope ladder
word: salmon ladder
word: scaling ladder
word: snakes and ladders
word: social ladder
word: stepladder
word: step-ladder
word: step ladder
word: Swedish ladder
word: tower ladder
word: turntable ladder
word: upladder
word: witch ladder
word: witch's ladder
word: word ladder