steep

Steep, having a sharp slope, is from Old English stēap, high; steep, to soak, is a Middle English verb probably related to Old Norse steypa, to pour.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /stiːp/^[4]

steep¹ sloping

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English stēap (“high, lofty, deep”) (about 725, in Beowulf),^[1][2][3] from *staupaz,^[1][2] cognate with Old Frisian stāp, high, and Old High German stouf, cliff,^[1][2][5] and related to stoop.^[1][3] It is perhaps from an Indo-European root meaning to push or strike,^[1][2] though Boutkan doubts the wider grouping.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

High, towering: about 725; the sense precipitous probably existed in Old English,^[2] but is first recorded probably before 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder.^[1]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English steep was also used of strong men, loud voices, prominent eyes and old age.^[2][3] The noun, a steep slope, is from 1555.^[1][5] The slang sense, of a price, high or excessive, is an American coinage attested by 1848.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 725 – high, lofty.^[1]
• before 1300 – precipitous.^[1]
• 1555 – a steep slope (noun).^[1][5]
• 1848 – of a price, excessive.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Having a sharp slope; nearly vertical; precipitous.
2. Rising or falling quickly: a steep decline.
3. (informal) Of a price, unreasonably high.

Noun

1. A steep slope.

Word family

• steeply
• steepness
• steepen

steep² soak

Etymology

Middle English stēpen is of uncertain origin, a word of “difficult etymology” according to the OED;^[2][1] it is probably cognate with Old Norse steypa, to pour out, cast, and Swedish stöpa, to steep,^[1][2][3][5] and perhaps related to Old English stēap, a cup (see stoup).^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To soak something in a liquid, originally barley or malt: before 1325,^[1] the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

To be soaked or bathed is from the late 14th century,^[2] and the figurative sense, to imbue thoroughly with an influence (steeped in tradition), from about 1600.^[2][3] The noun, the process of steeping or the liquid used, is from about 1430.^[1][6]

Timeline

• before 1325 – to soak.^[1]
• c. 1430 – a steeping (noun).^[1][6]
• c. 1600 – to imbue (figurative).^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To soak in liquid to soften, clean or draw out flavour, as tea.
2. To fill or imbue thoroughly: steeped in history.

Noun

1. The process of steeping, or the liquid used.

Related words

• stoop
• steeple

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press