Why they call a story building a story but it doesn't have a story?

Answer 1

A story, or storey, when describing a building, refers to how many floor-levels the building has.

So a single-storey, or single-story, building only has one level. Multi-story, or multi-storey, buildings have more than one level.

The word can be traced back to Latin, 'historia', meaning one floor-level of a building, and also a 'painting', or 'picture'. It is recorded in English as describing a floor (-level) of a building in the thirteenth century and it is thought the connection with the Latin term might relate to the windows which appear in the walls of each separate story, or storey, of a building.

In mediaeval times windows - not generally of very good, clear quality glass - were frequently painted in patterns or scenes, and clear windows, of course, appeared from inside the building as a 'picture' of the outside scene.

You might say, 'The three-story home stood out in the street of single-story houses.'

The English word 'story' meaning a tale or narrative also comes from the Latin 'historia' and 'storia' in this case more easily followed, since our word 'history' comes from the same Latin origins. In Latin the terms referred to a true history; in English it was used in the same way from the late fourteenth century, and by the late seventeenth century it had come to its present English meaning of a fiction, a tale, or a lie.

For example:

'It's a great story; I enjoyed reading it.'

'We enjoy his company; he's had interesting experiences, and tells a good story.'

'The salesman says the car is in perfect condition, but that's just his story. It doesn't look that good.'

'Nobody believed their excuse: it sounds like just another story.'