Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “stepbarn” come from?

stepbarn (Middle English) comes from Old English stēopbearn, from Proto-West Germanic *steupabarn, from Proto-Germanic steupabarną, from Proto-Germanic steupa-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)tewp-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)tew- — to push, to hit.

Ancestry of “stepbarn”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishstēopbearnstepchild
2Proto-West Germanic*steupabarn—
3Proto-Germanicsteupabarnąstepchild
4Proto-Germanicsteupa-step-
5Proto-Indo-European(s)tewp-to push, to stick
6Proto-Indo-European(s)tew-to push, to hit

Words derived from “stepbarn”

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