stepfather

B2 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ˈstɛpˌfɑːðɝ/ See IPA manual

Freq #10592

Meanings

1

noun
The man who is married to your mother but is not your biological father.

My stepfather has looked after me since I was five.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

co-fatherfather-in-lawstepdad

Word family

Forms stepfathers

Derived forms ex-stepfatherstepfatherhoodstepfatherly

Related forms stepauntstepbrother stepchild stepdaughterstepfamilystepfather-in-lawstepmotherstepnephewstepniece stepsister stepsonstepuncle

Etymology

From Middle English stepfader, from Old English stēopfæder, from Proto-Germanic *steupafadēr (“stepfather”), equivalent to step- + father. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stäiffoar (“stepfather”), Dutch stiefvader (“stepfather”), German Low German Steevvader (“stepfather”), German Stiefvater (“stepfather”), Swedish styvfar (“stepfather”), Icelandic stjúpfaðir (“stepfather”).

stepfader Middle English stēopfæder Old English *steupafadēr Proto-Germanic

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# stepfather

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈstɛpˌfɑːðɝ/
**Frequency rank:** 10592

## Meanings
1. The man who is married to your mother but is not your biological father.

## Examples
- My stepfather has looked after me since I was five.

## Synonyms
- co-father
- father-in-law
- stepdad

## Derived Forms
- ex-stepfather
- stepfatherhood
- stepfatherly

## Related Forms
- stepaunt
- stepbrother
- stepchild
- stepdaughter
- stepfamily
- stepfather-in-law
- stepmother
- stepnephew
- stepniece
- stepsister
- stepson
- stepuncle

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: stepfader
- Root: stēopfæder
- Root: *steupafadēr

## Etymology
From Middle English stepfader, from Old English stēopfæder, from Proto-Germanic *steupafadēr (“stepfather”), equivalent to step- + father. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stäiffoar (“stepfather”), Dutch stiefvader (“stepfather”), German Low German Steevvader (“stepfather”), German Stiefvater (“stepfather”), Swedish styvfar (“stepfather”), Icelandic stjúpfaðir (“stepfather”).

## AI Etymology
Stepfather is from Middle English stepfader, from Old English stēopfæder, from Proto-Germanic *steupafadēr (“stepfather”), equivalent to step- + father. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stäiffoar (“stepfather”), Dutch stiefvader (“stepfather”), German Low German Steevvader (“stepfather”), German Stiefvater (“stepfather”), Swedish styvfar (“stepfather”), Icelandic stjúpfaðir (“stepfather”). In present-day use, it means the man who is married to your mother but is not your biological father.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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stepfather

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