(no subject)

[42itous]

What is the distinction between steps and stairs? (Don't go looking it up, I'm interested in your instinctual response.)

Comments

[audesapere]

Stairs are for diagonal transportation. Steps are the ambulatory actions used to achieve this feat, on your own feet.

[42itous]

Does this mean that the things you would walk on if you were climbing up to the front porch of a house would be called stairs? I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious about how different people use these words differently.