Where does “stepbrother” come from?

Stepbrother comes from Middle English step- combined with brother, where step- derives from Old English stēop-, from Proto-Germanic steupa-, possibly related to Proto-Indo-European bʰréh₂tēr meaning brother.

stepbrother (English): The son of one's stepparent who is not the son of...

Definitions

  1. The son of one's stepparent who is not the son of...

Ancestry of “stepbrother”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbrotherSon of the same parents as another person; A male...
2Middle EnglishbrotherA brother or brother-in-law; a male sibling
3Old Englishbrōþorbrother
4Proto-West Germanicbrōþerbrother
5Proto-Germanicbrōþērbrother
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰréh₂tērbrother

Words derived from “stepbrother”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰréh₂tēr →
stepbrother — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer