stepchild

C2+ Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ˈstɛpˌtʃaɪld/ UK /ˈstɛpˌtʃaɪld/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a child of one's spouse from a previous relationship

She raised her stepchild as lovingly as her own.

Thesaurus

Word family

Related forms stepson stepdaughterstepparentchild

Etymology

From Old English 'stēopcild', a compound of 'stēop-' (originally meaning orphaned, later by remarriage) and 'cild' (child).

stēop- Old English cild Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships

# stepchild

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

## Meanings
1. a child of one's spouse from a previous relationship

## Examples
- She raised her stepchild as lovingly as her own.

## Related Forms
- stepson
- stepdaughter
- stepparent
- child

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: stēop-
- Root: cild

## Etymology
From Old English 'stēopcild', a compound of 'stēop-' (originally meaning orphaned, later by remarriage) and 'cild' (child).

## AI Etymology
Stepchild is from Old English 'stēopcild', a compound of 'stēop-' (originally meaning orphaned, later by remarriage) and 'cild' (child). Important recorded forms include stēop- (Old English) and cild (Old English). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The semantic development is already visible in the history: an older concrete or specialized use was extended into the modern meaning rather than replaced by a separate origin. In current use it covers a child of one's spouse from a previous relationship. The wider family includes related words such as stepson, stepdaughter, stepparent, and child.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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stepchild

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