Etymologically
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steep

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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.
  • 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