footing

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ˈfʊtɪŋ/ UK /ˈfʊtɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a secure grip for the feet; a basis or established position

She lost her footing on the icy step and grabbed the railing.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a secure grip for the feet;... foothold foundation basis grounding stance standing grip balance

Word family

Related forms foot footer

Etymology

From the verb foot (from Old English fotian, from fot 'foot') plus the gerund/noun suffix -ing. The sense of a secure base or established position is a figurative extension from the literal placing of the feet.

fot Middle English *fōts Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# footing

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈfʊtɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfʊtɪŋ/

## Meanings
1. a secure grip for the feet; a basis or established position

## Examples
- She lost her footing on the icy step and grabbed the railing.

## Synonyms
- foothold
- foundation
- basis
- grounding
- stance
- standing
- grip
- balance

## Related Forms
- foot
- footer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fot
- Root: *fōts

## Etymology
From the verb foot (from Old English fotian, from fot 'foot') plus the gerund/noun suffix -ing. The sense of a secure base or established position is a figurative extension from the literal placing of the feet.

## AI Etymology
Footing comes from the verb foot (from Old English fotian, from fot 'foot') plus the gerund/noun suffix -ing. The sense of a secure base or established position is a figurative extension from the literal placing of the feet. The development is chiefly inherited within English and its older relatives, with the later form continuing material already present in the language's ancestry. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a secure grip for the feet; a basis or established position", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as foot and footer, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Old English fot and Proto-Germanic *fōts, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes foothold, foundation, basis, and stance, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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