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step-

English

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step-

  • /stɛp-/ US, UK

Where it comes from

From Middle English step-, from Old English stēop- (“deprived of a relative, step-”, prefix), from Proto-West Germanic *steupa-, from Proto-Germanic *steupa- (“orphaned, step-”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“to push, strike”).

Cognate with Scots step- (“step-”), West Frisian stiep- (“step-”), Dutch stief- (“step-”), Low German steef- (“step-”), German stief- (“step-”), Swedish styv- (“step-”), Icelandic stjúp- (“step-”). Related to Old English stīepan (“to deprive, bereave”). Not, however, related to the familiar English noun or verb step.

prefix

  1. morpheme A prefix used before father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, child, and so forth, to indicate that the person being identified is not a blood relative but is related through the marriage of a parent.

Translations

Every language

prefix prefix used to indicate that the person being identified is not a blood relative

Español-astro, -astra
中文后 hòu, 表 biǎo
हिन्दीसौतेला sautelā, सौतेली sautelī
Kiswahilikambo
Português-asto, -asta
Françaisbeau-, bel-, belle-
Deutschstief-
Italiano-astro, astra, -astra
Românăvitreg
Русскийсво́дный svódnyj
עבריתחורג chorég, חורגת choréget

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Cite this
MLA

"step-." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/step-. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

step-. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/step-

Chicago

"step-." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/step-.

BibTeX
@misc{step_2026,
  title = {step-},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/step-},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}