English
stepmeal
Stepmeal comes from Old English stæpmǣlum ‘step by step’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *stapimālum.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stapimālumreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stæpmǣlum‘step by step’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*stepmelereconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1852stepmeal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stapimālumreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stæpmǣlum‘step by step’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*stepmelereconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1852stepmeal
Earliest quotation: 1852: “He who would see it with his mind's eye…”.
Formed from step + -meal
Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- ‘to support’
Proto-Germanic *stapjaną ‘to step’
Proto-West Germanic *stappjan ‘to step’
Old English steppan ‘to step’
Middle English steppen ‘to step’
English step
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *stapimālum
Today it means
adv One step at a time; step by step; gradually; by degrees.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *stapimālum / stepmeal