Where does “step-” come from?

step- (English) comes from Middle English step-, from Old English stēop-, from Proto-Germanic steupa-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)tewp-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)tew- — to push, to hit.

step- (English): A prefix used before "father", "mother",...

Definitions

  1. A prefix used before "father", "mother",...

Ancestry of “step-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishstep-step- related through the marriage of a parent
2Old Englishstēop-deprived of a relative, step-
3Proto-Germanicsteupa-step-
4Proto-Indo-European(s)tewp-to push, to stick
5Proto-Indo-European(s)tew-to push, to hit

Words derived from “step-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)tew- →