Where does “step-” come from?
step- (Middle English) comes from Old English stēop-, from Proto-Germanic steupa-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)tewp-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)tew- — to push, to hit.
Ancestry of “step-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | stēop- | deprived of a relative, step- |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | steupa- | step- |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)tewp- | to push, to stick |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)tew- | to push, to hit |
Words derived from “step-”