English
stepstone
From step + stone.
Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- ‘to support’
Proto-Germanic *stapjaną ‘to step’
Proto-West Germanic *stappjan ‘to step’
Old English steppan ‘to step’
Middle English steppen ‘to step’
English step
Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- ‘to stiffen’
…
Proto-Germanic *stainaz
Proto-West Germanic *stain
Old English stān
Middle English ston ‘a stone’
English stone
Today it means
noun A stone laid before a door as a stair to step on when entering or leaving the house; a doorstep.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “stepstone”. 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 / stepstone