DictionaryRoot: steop-
Old English
steop-
related through a parent's remarriage
Forms
- steop-
- step- — The modern shortened form.
Origin
From an older Germanic word associated with bereavement or being orphaned.
Note
The earlier focus was the loss of a parent, rather than remarriage as an abstract relationship.
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noun
stepmother
STEP-muh-thur/ˈstepmʌðər/
A parent's wife who is not one's biological mother.
Etymology
Step-, presumed originally to suggest loss, combined with mother to describe someone becoming a mother to an orphan. The orphanage association faded, leaving the relationship created by marriage to a parent.