Advertisement
stepper (n.)
"horse with a showy gait," 1835, agent noun from step (v.).
Entries linking to stepper
step (v.)Old English steppan (Anglian), stæppan (West Saxon) "take a step," from West Germanic *stap- "tread" (source also of Old Frisian stapa, Middle Dutch, Dutch stappen, Old High German stapfon, German stapfen "step"), from PIE root *stebh- "post, stem; to support, place firmly on" (see staff (n.); source also of Old Church Slavonic stopa "step, pace," stepeni "step, degree"). The notion is perhaps "a treading firmly on; a foothold."
Transitive sense (as in step foot in) attested from 1530s. Related: Stepped; stepping. Originally strong (past tense stop, past participle bestapen); weak forms emerged 13c., universal from 16c. To step out "leave for a short time" is from 1530s; meaning "to go out in public in style" is from 1907. Step on it "hurry up" is 1923, from notion of gas pedal.
Transitive sense (as in step foot in) attested from 1530s. Related: Stepped; stepping. Originally strong (past tense stop, past participle bestapen); weak forms emerged 13c., universal from 16c. To step out "leave for a short time" is from 1530s; meaning "to go out in public in style" is from 1907. Step on it "hurry up" is 1923, from notion of gas pedal.
Share stepper
‘cite’
Page URL:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/stepper
HTML Link:
<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/stepper">Etymology of stepper by etymonline</a>
APA style:
Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of stepper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved $(datetime), from https://www.etymonline.com/word/stepper
Chicago style:
Harper Douglas, “Etymology of stepper,” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed $(datetime), https://www.etymonline.com/word/stepper.
MLA style:
Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of stepper.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/stepper. Accessed $(datetimeMla).
IEEE style:
D. Harper. “Etymology of stepper.” Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/stepper (accessed $(datetime)).
Advertisement
Advertisement
Definitions of stepper
stepper (n.)
a professional dancer;
Synonyms: hoofer
stepper (n.)
a motor (especially an electric motor) that moves or rotates in small discrete steps;
Synonyms: stepping motor
stepper (n.)
a horse trained to lift its feet high off the ground while walking or trotting;
Synonyms: high stepper
Dictionary entries near stepper
Stephen
Stepin Fetchit
step-ladder
stepmother
steppe
stepper
stepping
step-sister
step-son
-ster
*ster-
