Etymograph

English

step

Step comes from Middle English steppen ‘to step’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- ‘to support, stomp, curse, be amazed’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stebʰ-1‘to support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stapjaną1‘to step’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stappjan1‘to step’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150steppan1‘to step’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500steppen1‘to step’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1624step1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English step
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1624, Sir Henry Wotton: “The breadth of every single step or stair should…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stebʰ-Wiktionary, English step‘to support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stapjanąWiktionary, English step‘to step’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stappjanWiktionary, English step‘to step’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150steppanWiktionary, English step‘to step’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500steppenWiktionary, English step‘to step’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1624stepWiktionary, English step. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1624, Sir Henry Wotton: “The breadth of every single step or stair should…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with step, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- ‘to support, stomp, curse, be amazed’

  • staff ← staf ← stæf ← *stab ← *stabaz
  • steven ← stefn ← *stabnijaz
  • staple ← estaple ← stapula ← *stapul ← *stapulaz

5 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun An advance or movement made from one foot to the other; a pace.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “step”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- / step