Meaning

noun steps consisting of two parallel members connected by rungs; for climbing up or down

noun ascending stages by which somebody or something can progress

noun a row of unravelled stitches

originInherited 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,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0