Steeple comes from Old English 'stēpel', a lofty tower, related to 'stēap' (steep, lofty); ultimately from a Germanic base meaning high or projecting. The historical chain includes Old English stēpel and Old English stēap. The quoted older senses, "stēpel" and "stēap", supply the semantic anchors for steeple. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word steeple carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a tall tower with a spire on top of a church". English derivatives include steepled; related English forms include steep and steeplechase. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.