Online Etymology Dictionary

climber: 1423, "one who climbs," from climb. Of plants, from 1640.
climb: O.E. climban, from W.Gmc. *klimbanan "go up by clinging." A strong verb in O.E., weak by 16c. Most other Gmc. languages long ago dropped the -b.
stile: O.E. stigel "device for climbing, ladder," related to stigen "to climb," from P.Gmc. *stig- "to climb," (see stair). An arrangement to allow persons to pass but not sheep and cattle.
transcend: mid-14c., from L. transcendere "climb over or beyond, surmount," from trans- "beyond" + scandere "to climb" (see scan (v.)). Transcendentalism first recorded 1803, in reference to the philosophy of Kant; applied 1842 to the religio-philosophical views of Emerson and similar New England thinkers. Transcendental meditation is recorded from 1966.
scale (v.): "to climb," c.1380, from L. scala, from scandere "to climb" (see scan). This is also the source (perhaps via It. scala) of the noun in the musical sense (1597), and the meaning "proportion of a representation to the actual object" (1662). Scale down "reduce" is attested from 1887.
ascend: late 14c., from L. ascendere "to climb up," from ad- "to" + scandere "to climb" (see scan). An O.E. word for it was stigan.
shinny (v.): "to climb a rope, pole, etc.," 1888, from use of shins and ankles to do so; see shin.
clamber: late 14c., possibly frequentative of M.E. climben "to climb," or akin to O.N. klembra "to hook (oneself) on."
swarm (v.): "to climb by clasping with the arms and legs alternately," 1550, perhaps originally a sailors' word, of uncertain origin. Also recorded as swarve (16c.) and in Northern dialects swarble, swarmle.
scansion: 1671, "action of marking off of verse in metric feet," from L.L. scansionem (nom. scansio), from L., "act of climbing," from scandere "to climb" (see scan).
descend: c.1300, from O.Fr. descendre, from L. descendere, from de- "down" + scandere "to climb," from PIE base *skand- "jump." Sense of "originate from" is late 14c. In typography, descender "part of a letter that extends below the body" is from 1802.
clamp (n.): 1304, probably from clamb, orig. pt. of climb, or from M.Du. klampe, from W.Gmc. *klamp- "clamp, cleat." The verb is from 1677.
arduous: 1530s, "high, steep, difficult to climb," from L. arduus "high, steep," from PIE base *eredh- "to grow, high" (see ortho-). Metaphoric extension to "difficult" first attested 1713.
ramp: 1778, "slope," from Fr. rampe, back-formation from O.Fr. verb ramper "to climb, creep" (12c.), perhaps from Frank. *rampon "to contract oneself" (cf. O.H.G. rimpfan "to wrinkle," O.E. hrimpan "to fold, wrinkle"
rampant: late 14c., "standing on the hind legs" (as a heraldic lion often does), thus, also, "fierce, ravenous" (late 14c.), from O.Fr. rampant, prp. of ramper "to creep, climb" (see rampage). Sense of "growing without check" (in running rampant), first recorded 1610s, preserves the O.Fr. sense.
aspire: mid-15c., from O.Fr. aspirer "aspire to, inspire" (12c.), from L. aspirare "to breathe upon, to breathe," also, in transf. senses, "to be favorable to, assist; to climb up to, to endeavor to obtain, to reach to, to seek to reach; infuse," from ad- "to" + spirare "to breathe" (see spirit). The notion is of "panting with desire," or perhaps of rising smoke.
mount (v.): 13c., from O.Fr. monter "to go up, ascend, climb, mount," from V.L. *montare, from L. mons (gen. montis) "mountain" (see mount (n.)). Meaning "to set or place in position" first recorded 1539. Sense of "to get up on (a horse, etc.) to ride" is from 1509; "to get up on for purposes of copulation" is from 1592. The colloquial noun meaning "a horse for riding" first recorded 1856.
fetch: O.E. feccan, apparently a variant of fetian, fatian "to fetch, bring, to marry," probably from P.Gmc. *fatojanan (cf. O.N. feta "to find one's way," O.H.G. sih faggon "to mount, climb"), related to O.E. fot "foot." Variant form fet, a derivation of the older O.E. version of the word, survived as a competitor until 17c. Fetching (adj.) appeared 1581 meaning "crafty, scheming;" the sense of "alluring, fascinating" is 1880.
shin: O.E. scinu "shin," from P.Gmc. *skino "thin piece" (cf. Du. scheen, O.H.G. scina, Ger. Schienbein "shin, shinbones"), from PIE base *skei- "to cut, split." The verb meaning "to climb by using arms and legs" (originally a nautical word) is recorded from 1829. A shin-plaster was a piece of paper soaked in vinegar and used to treat sore legs; in U.S. history, it was used jocularly for "devalued low-denomination paper currency" (1824). Shin splints is attested from 1930.
scan (v.): late 14c., "mark off verse in metric feet," from L.L. scandere "to scan verse," originally, in classical L., "to climb" (the connecting notion is of the rising and falling rhythm of poetry), from PIE *skand- "to spring, leap" (cf. Skt. skandati "hastens, leaps, jumps;" Gk. skandalon "stumbling block;" M.Ir. sescaind "he sprang, jumped," sceinm "a bound, jump"). Missing -d in English is probably from confusion with suffix -ed (see lawn (1)). Sense of "look at closely, examine" first recorded 1540s. The (opposite) sense of "look over quickly, skim" is first attested 1926. The noun is recorded from 1706. Scanner as a type of mechanical device is recorded from 1927.
stair: O.E. stæger "flight of steps," also "a single step," from P.Gmc. *staigri (cf. O.N., O.Fris. stiga, M.Du. stighen, O.H.G. stigan, Ger. steigen, Goth. steigan "to go up, ascend;" O.E. stigan "to climb, go;" Ger. Steig "path," O.E. stig "narrow path"), from PIE *steigh- "go, rise, stride, step, walk" (cf. Gk. steikhein "to go, march in order," stikhos "row, line, rank, verse;" Skt. stighnoti "mounts, rises, steps;" O.C.S. stignati "to overtake," stigna "place;" Lith. staiga "suddenly;" O.Ir. tiagaim "I walk;" Welsh taith "going, walk, way"). Originally also a collective plural; stairs developed by 1398. OED says stair still is ordinary in Scotland where flight of stairs would be used elsewhere. Staircase is from 1624, originally the enclosure of the stairs; stairway is from 1767.