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A staircase is a whole set of inside a building, thought of as one built object — the steps themselves plus the frame that holds them up and the rail or side wall you put your hand on. That 'whole thing' feeling is the key.
A staircase一座staircase（樓梯） is a whole set of stairs inside a building是建築物裡整組的樓梯 thought of as one built object被當成一個完整的建造物來看 the steps themselves台階本身 plus the frame that holds them up加上撐著它的結構 and the rail or side wall you put your hand on以及你會扶的扶手或旁邊的牆 That 'whole thing' feeling這種「一整個」的感覺 is the key才是關鍵
If you say 'be careful on the stairs', you mean the steps you are walking on; if you say 'a beautiful wooden staircase', you mean the structure as a piece of the house, something a carpenter made. So we talk about a spiral staircase, a marble staircase, a staircase that curves down into the hall.
If you say 'be careful on the stairs'如果你說『be careful on the stairs』 you mean the steps you are walking on你指的是你正在走的那些台階 if you say 'a beautiful wooden staircase'如果你說『a beautiful wooden staircase』 you mean the structure as a piece of the house你指的是房子裡的那個結構 something a carpenter made是木匠打造出來的東西 So we talk about所以我們會說 a spiral staircase螺旋staircase a marble staircase大理石staircase a staircase that curves down into the hall或彎彎地通到大廳的staircase
In ordinary talk, though, people say 'the stairs' far more often, and 'staircase' comes out mainly when the thing itself is being described or admired — in stories, in house advertisements, in tours of old buildings. In American English you will also hear 'stairway' with much the same meaning.
In ordinary talk, though不過在日常對話裡 people say 'the stairs' far more often大家更常說『the stairs』 and 'staircase'而『staircase』 comes out mainly when the thing itself is being described or admired主要是在描述或欣賞那個東西本身時才會用 in stories, in house advertisements, in tours of old buildings像在故事裡、房屋廣告裡，或古建築導覽裡 In American English在美式英文裡 you will also hear 'stairway'你也會聽到『stairway』 with much the same meaning意思差不多一樣
One small caution about buildings in Taiwan: the concrete in an apartment block are usually the 樓梯 everyone just calls 'the ', and the shaft they run through is the , not the staircase.
One small caution about buildings in Taiwan關於台灣的建築有個小提醒 the concrete stairs in an apartment block公寓裡的水泥樓梯 are usually the 樓梯 everyone just calls 'the stairs'通常就是大家隨口說的「樓梯」（the stairs） and the shaft they run through而樓梯所在的那個空間 is the stairwell, not the staircase是stairwell（樓梯間），不是staircase
組成stair（一階、樓梯）+ case（外殼、框架）. 'Stair' goes back to Old English stǣġer, from a very old root meaning 'to climb'. 'Case' here is the old sense of a frame or box that encloses something — like a bookcase — so a staircase is 'the frame that holds the stairs'.
原始詞典資料5 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
staircasenoun/ˈstɛɹˌkeɪs/
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A flight of stairs; a stairway.
- I was on the staircase by the bell / Blinded by the black magician's spell
- 2
A connected set of flights of stairs; a stairwell.
- Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.
- When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. He had him gripped firmly by the arm, since he felt it was not safe to let him loose, and he had no immediate idea what to do with him.
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A set of locks (enclosed sections of waterway) mounted one above the next.
staircaseverb/ˈstɛɹˌkeɪs/
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To modify (a signal, a graph, etc.) to reduce a smooth curve to a series of discrete steps.
- This leads to much smoother reconstructions in regions of moderate gradient and thus prevents staircasing.
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businessreal-estateTo increase one's share in a co-ownership.
- It is a good idea to make plans for staircasing when you first buy your shared ownership home.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。