ladderwise en · ADV
Etymology
From ladder + -wise.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) In the manner of a ladder; arranged in ascending steps like a ladder.
Such perches never cause crooked breast-bones; the heaviest fowl can reach them, and there is never any dispute for the highest place, which is always the case when arranged en échelon or ladderwise.
1868, Lewis Wright, The Practical Poultry Keeper, page 227: