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.

step- (Middle English): step- related through the marriage of a parent

Definitions

  1. step- related through the marriage of a parent

Ancestry of “step-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishstēop-deprived of a relative, step-
2Proto-Germanicsteupa-step-
3Proto-Indo-European(s)tewp-to push, to stick
4Proto-Indo-European(s)tew-to push, to hit

Words derived from “step-

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