Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “doorstep” come from?

Doorstep comes from English door and Middle English steppen, from Old English steppan, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰwer- meaning threshold or opening.

doorstep (English): An outside step leading up to the door of a...

Definitions

  1. An outside step leading up to the door of a...

Ancestry of “doorstep”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstepAn advance or movement made from one foot to the...
2EnglishstepchildThe child of one's spouse but not one's own; A...
3Middle Englishstepchild—
4Old Englishstēopċildstepchild
5Old Englishċildchild, youth; fetus; female baby; child
6Proto-Germanickelþazfetus; newborn; infant; child
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵelt-womb
8Proto-Indo-Europeanǵel-to swallow; swallow

Words derived from “doorstep”

  • doorstepper
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵel- →