Etymograph

English

scalary

Scalary comes from Latin scalaris ‘Of, pertaining to or resembling a flight of…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-1‘to jump up, ascend’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscala2‘staircase, ladder’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscalaris2‘Of, pertaining to or resembling a flight of stairs, or a ladder’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1650scalary2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin scala, which cites Martirosyan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English scalary
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […]: “For endeavouring to ingratiate himself with the people, besides…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-Wiktionary, Latin scala, which cites Martirosyan‘to jump up, ascend’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscalaWiktionary, English scalary‘staircase, ladder’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscalarisWiktionary, English scalary‘Of, pertaining to or resembling a flight of stairs, or a ladder’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1650scalaryWiktionary, English scalary. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […]: “For endeavouring to ingratiate himself with the people, besides…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’

scan, descend, ascension, slander, ascendant, skein, 13 more

through Latin scala ‘staircase, ladder’

scale, echelon, escalator, esca, 4 more

Today it means

adj Like a ladder; formed with steps.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “scalary”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin scala. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *skend- / scalary

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