step English · revision 3455

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=before 899 (Old English stæppan)|origins=gmw-pro *stapjan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /step/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|steppen]], [[inh|ang|steppan]], West Saxon stæppan, “to take a step, move the feet as in walking”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[gmw-pro|*stapjan|t=to tread]].^(Etymonline) Its cognates include [[ofs|stapa]], [[nl|stappen]], [[goh|stapfōn]] and [[de|stapfen]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) The noun is Old English [[m|ang|stæpe]], [[m|ang|stepe|t=a step, footprint; a stair]].^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002) It is related to [[stamp]].^(SOED 2002)^(MW Collegiate) Watkins derives it from [[ine-pro|*stebʰ-|alt=*stebh-|t=post, stem; to support, place firmly on]], the root of [[staff]], comparing Old Church Slavonic stopa “step”, but Boutkan finds the group only in Germanic and gives no Indo-European etymology.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To take a step, move the feet: Old English ''stæppan'', before 899 in West Saxon,^(Barnhart 1988) and the noun, an act of stepping, before 1023.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb was originally strong, with past tense stōp; the weak forms ''stepped'' appeared in the 13th century and were the only ones by the 16th.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) In late Old English the noun meant “a degree on a scale” as well as a stair or rung,^(Etymonline) and a person's manner of walking by about 1000.^(OED 1989) The distance covered by a step is from the mid-13th century, hence a unit of length of about two and a half feet.^(Etymonline) ''Follow in someone's steps'' is from the mid-13th century.^(Etymonline) An action leading towards a result is from the 1540s,^(Etymonline) or 1549,^(HTOED) and ''step by step'' from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) Dance steps are from the 1670s and military paces from 1798.^(Etymonline) ''Step out'', “to leave briefly”, is from the 1530s, ''watch your step'' from 1911, and ''step on it'', “hurry”, from 1923, from the accelerator.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – Old English ''stæppan''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1023 – noun, a step.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-13th century – the distance of a step.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – weak past tense ''stepped'' established.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – a step towards a result.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – ''step by step''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1670s – a dance step.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1923 – ''step on it''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A single movement of raising one foot and putting it down elsewhere, as in walking; a [[pace]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A manner of walking; a [[gait]]; the sound of a footstep.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A support for the foot in going up or down; a [[stair]] or rung.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # One of a series of actions taken to reach a goal.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A stage or degree in a scale or process.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A pattern of movements in a dance.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put the foot down; to walk a short distance.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To move into a new situation as if by a step: ''step down'', ''step in''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To measure by pacing: ''step off''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[steplike]]

+ * [[stepped]]

+ * [[stepless]]

+ * [[corbie-step]]

+ * [[goose-step]]

+ * [[high-step]]

+ * [[misstep]]

+ * [[one-step]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stamp]]

+ * [[staff]]

+ * [[stoop]]

+ * [[footstep]]

+ * [[doorstep]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Step'' as a colloquial shortening of ''stepmother'', ''stepfather'' and the like, from 1895, belongs to the prefix [[step-]], a different word.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}