Where does “stepmom” come from?

stepmom (English) comes from English step-, 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.

stepmom (English): Stepmother

Definitions

  1. Stepmother

Ancestry of “stepmom”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishstep-A prefix used before "father", "mother",...
2Middle Englishstep-step- related through the marriage of a parent
3Old Englishstēop-deprived of a relative, step-
4Proto-Germanicsteupa-step-
5Proto-Indo-European(s)tewp-to push, to stick
6Proto-Indo-European(s)tew-to push, to hit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)tew-