Why is a landing called a landing?

[SteveG]

Why is a Landing called a landing.?

[firefly]

If you mean an upstairs corridor, perhaps because its where the stairs end and so the floor is flat. It only applies for domestic corridors for some reason.

[SteveG]

Thanks Firefly, how about a Banister ( this wont continue throughout the house but sometimes one question prompts another)

[IndieSinger]

Ah a "Bannister" takes its name from the great athlete Roger Bannister, who ran the first sub-four-minute mile in recorded history in 1954. The bannister in your house, runs alongside the stairs, you see.

N.B. This is not true.

[Quizmonster]

Believe it or not, but a landing is called a landing because you find it at the end of a 'flight'...in this case, of stairs. Really...and it has been so used since the 1700s.

The word 'ban(n)ister' is a corruption of the 'correct' name 'baluster'. It has been in use even longer, so the people back then who said it was 'vulgar' do not seem to have made their point very well!

[woofgang]

Indie, do you have too much time on your hands??? ;-}

[SteveG]

Wolfgang The fact is all we ALL must have too much time on our hands.

[rob2uk]

Actually, 'landing' can be used to refer to the different levels in a prison wing...