Etymology is the why, really. For example the german word for floor (in this context), Stockwerk, comes from “putting something on top”. So it would make no sense at all to call the ground floor the 1. Stockwerk. It is usually labelled E for Erdgeschoss (=ground floor) though and not 0.
Etymology is the why, really. For example the german word for floor (in this context), Stockwerk, comes from “putting something on top”. So it would make no sense at all to call the ground floor the 1. Stockwerk. It is usually labelled E for Erdgeschoss (=ground floor) though and not 0.
Or to be even more precise when talking about buildings there are the abbreviations:
Well now we’re just back at the “entree” problem:
If we’re centuries separated from the original meaning, does it even matter?