Who knows why they are called stories in a building ?

Answer 1

A century ago etymologists speculated that "story" came from some lost word "stairy," perhaps related to Gaelic staidhir, flight of stairs; or possibly from something along the lines of "stagery," derived from "stage." Others dismissed these as being obviously born of desperation, and for a time the experts settled on Old French estoree, a thing built. But doubts arose when researchers dug up such phrases as una historia octo fenestrarum, "a story of eight windows," from medieval Latin history books. Historia in Roman times meant history or story, and by the Middle Ages had acquired the meaning of "picture." So the charming notion arose that medieval folk were in the habit of installing rows of windows in their buildings called "stories" that were decorated with paintings or sculpture. The theory is that these stories, which for all anybody knows may actually have told a story, eventually came to signify a level of a building. Apparently as evidence of this practice, the authors of the Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins cite the fact that they once visited a Swiss-style hotel decorated along these lines in Lake Placid, New York. (Each floor was tricked out with a large hand-lettered slogan, such as "The only way to multiply happiness is to divide it.") At any rate, conjecture has now hardened into conviction. Believe at your own risk.

Answer 2

No one really knows. But the original form of this word is "historia" -- which eliminates any idea that it came from "storage" or the like.

It MAY be related to "story - a tale", and if so, the connection MAY be from a tier of windows or statues on a building. But that's just speculation; no one knows.

The Oxford English Dictionary says, "First in Anglo-Latin form "historia;" hence probably the same word as STORY [a tale], though the development of sense is obscure. Possibly "historia" as an architectural term may originally have denoted a tier of painted windows or of sculptures on the front of a building."

Answer 3

The floors of buildings are called "stories" because early European builders used to paint picture stories on the sides of their houses? Each floor had a different story...
looked it up on ask.com
hope this helps
good question made me wonder so i looked it up
and i lerned somthing new
thanx
i give this question a star:)

Answer 4

sto·ry2 /ˈstɔri, ˈstoʊri/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[stawr-ee, stohr-ee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -ries. 1. a complete horizontal section of a building, having one continuous or practically continuous floor.
2. the set of rooms on the same floor or level of a building.
3. any major horizontal architectural division, as of a façade or the wall of a nave.
4. a layer.

Also, especially British, storey.


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[Origin: 1350–1400; ME storie < AL historia picture decorating a building, a part of the building so decorated, hence floor, story < L historia history]

Answer 5

Stories is plural for storage area or room, hence you may have three storage areas on top of each other, so you would be three stories high.

Answer 6

They are not called 'stories', They are called 'storeys'. It has nothing to do with 'stories'.
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Answer 7

This is to do with Columbine since I you don't allow email. Well, he has a yearbook so does that count?