Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

step-

/stɛp-/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.13 in modern English

Syllables
step-
IPA
/stɛp-/
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

prefix

A prefix used before father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, child, and so forth, to indicate that the person being identified is not a blood relative but is related through the marriage of a parent.

Etymology

From Middle English step-, from Old English stēop- (“deprived of a relative, step-”, prefix), from Proto-West Germanic *steupa-, from Proto-Germanic *steupa- (“orphaned, step-”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“to push, strike”). Cognate with Scots step- (“step-”), West Frisian stiep- (“step-”), Dutch stief- (“step-”), Low German steef- (“step-”), German stief- (“step-”), Swedish styv- (“step-”), Icelandic stjúp- (“step-”). Related to Old English stīepan (“to deprive, bereave”). Not, however, related to the familiar English noun or verb step.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *(s)tewp-, step-, stēop-, *steupa-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /stɛp-/
  • British English: /stɛp-/

Questions

How do you pronounce step-?
The recorded pronunciation is /stɛp-/.
What does step- mean?
A prefix used before father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, child, and so forth, to indicate that the person being identified is not a blood relative but is related through the marriage of a parent.
Where does step- come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce step-

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “step-”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/stɛp-/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “step-”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “step-” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.