society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun] > passage formed by steps
1810 (Public Local & Personal Acts, c. 41) 51 Cellar-grate step-way or hatch-way.
1906 H. G. Wells i. i. 26 We walked together..up the stepway and the lanes towards Clayton Crest.