Where does “stepchildren” come from?

stepchildren (Middle English) comes from Old English stēopċild, from Old English ċild, from Proto-Germanic kelþaz, from Proto-Indo-European ǵelt-, from Proto-Indo-European ǵel- — to swallow; swallow.

Ancestry of “stepchildren”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishstēopċildstepchild
2Old Englishċildchild, youth; fetus; female baby; child
3Proto-Germanickelþazfetus; newborn; infant; child
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵelt-womb
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵel-to swallow; swallow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵelt- →Every word from Proto-Germanic kelþaz →