Where does “goose-step” come from?

goose-step (English) comes from English step, from English stepchild, from Middle English stepchild, from Old English stēopċild, from Old English ċild, from Proto-Germanic kelþaz, from Proto-Indo-European ǵelt-, from Proto-Indo-European ǵel- — to swallow; swallow.

goose-step (English): A style of marching in which the feet are lifted...

Definitions

  1. A style of marching in which the feet are lifted...

Ancestry of “goose-step”, step by step

goose-step traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English 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 Englishstepchildstepchild child of a spouse
4Old Englishstēopċildstepchild
5Old Englishċildchild, youth; fetus; female baby; child
6Proto-Germanickelþazfetus; newborn; infant; child
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵelt-womb
8Proto-Indo-Europeanǵel-to swallow; swallow

via English goose

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgooseAny of various grazing waterfowl of the family...
2Middle Englishgoosgoose; The meat or corpse of a goose; a dead...
3Old Englishgōsgoose
4Proto-Germanicgansgoose
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰans-

Words derived from “goose-step

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵel-Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵelt-Every word from Proto-Germanic kelþaz
goose-step — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer