Shalott

English Alternative forms Astolat, Scalot, Ascalot, Escalot Etymology The variation between Ast- and Asc- suggest that it comes from en cy ystol, alternate form en cy ysgol, both meaning ladder (and derived from en la scala). The suffix is diminutive, probably meaning flight of stairs (since she lived in a tower). Thus lady of the staircase. Proper noun Legendary place in Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott and elsewhere, identified with Guildford by Malory.