<P> The earliest recorded use of the prefix step - , in the form steop - , is from an 8th - century glossary of Latin - Old English words meaning `` orphan '' . Steopsunu is given for the Latin word filiaster and steopmoder for nouerca . Similar words recorded later in Old English include stepbairn , stepchild and stepfather . The words are used to denote a connection resulting from the remarriage of a widowed parent and are related to the word ástíeped meaning bereaved , with stepbairn and stepchild occasionally used simply as synonyms for orphan . Words such as stepbrother , stepniece and stepparent appeared much later and do not have any particular connotation of bereavement . Corresponding words in other Germanic languages include : Old High German stiuf - and Old Norse stjúp - . </P>
<P> The earliest recorded use of the prefix step - , in the form steop - , is from an 8th - century glossary of Latin - Old English words meaning `` orphan '' . Steopsunu is given for the Latin word filiaster and steopmoder for nouerca . Similar words recorded later in Old English include stepbairn , stepchild and stepfather . The words are used to denote a connection resulting from the remarriage of a widowed parent and are related to the word ástíeped meaning bereaved , with stepbairn and stepchild occasionally used simply as synonyms for orphan . Words such as stepbrother , stepniece and stepparent appeared much later and do not have any particular connotation of bereavement . Corresponding words in other Germanic languages include : Old High German stiuf - and Old Norse stjúp - . </P>
where did the word step dad come from
where did the word step dad come from
Latin - Old English words meaning `` orphan ''
Latin - Old English words meaning `` orphan ''