stepchild C2+ Topic:Family & Relationships US /ˈstɛpˌtʃaɪld/ UK /ˈstɛpˌtʃaɪld/ See IPA manual 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 stepsonstepdaughterstepparentchild Etymology AI details 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 External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 markdown