stepchild

See also: step-child

English

Alternative forms

• step-child

Etymology

From Middle English stepchild, stepchyld, from Old English stēopċild (“stepchild”), equivalent to step- +‎ child. Compare Dutch stiefkind (“stepchild”), German Stiefkind (“stepchild”), Swedish styvbarn (“stepchild”).

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA or enPR then please add some!

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: step‧child

Noun

stepchild (plural stepchildren)

1. The child of one's spouse from a previous relationship.
   • 2024 August 3, Paula Span, “When Elder Care Is All in the Stepfamily”, in The New York Times‎:

     Calculating the growth in stepfamilies isn’t simple, but a demographic analysis published last year estimated that about 16 percent of Americans over age 70 have at least one stepchild. […] Overall, stepchildren provide less care to older adults

2. (obsolete) A bereaved child; one who has lost father or mother.

Synonyms

• (child of one's spouse but not one's own): stepbairn (Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland), stepkid (informal), step (colloquial)
• (bereaved child): orphan

Antonyms

• stepparent

Hyponyms

• stepdaughter
• stepson
• stepteen
• See also Thesaurus:relative

Derived terms

• red-headed stepchild
• stepchildhood

Translations

the child of one's spouse from his or her previous partner

Albanian: thjeshtër (sq) Armenian: խորթ զավակ (xortʻ zavak) Bulgarian: дове́дено дете́ n (dovédeno deté), зава́рено дете́ n (zaváreno deté) Catalan: fillastre (ca) m, fillastra (ca) f Danish: stedbarn n Finnish: lapsipuoli French: bel-enfant (fr) m, beau-fils (fr) m (stepson), belle-fille (fr) f (stepdaughter), fillâtre (fr) m or f Georgian: გერი (geri), არაღვიძლი შვილი (araɣviʒli švili) German: Stiefkind (de) n Greek: θετό τέκνο n (thetó tékno), πρόγονος (el) (prógonos) Hanunoo: anak ulong Hausa: agola Hungarian: mostohagyerek (hu), mostohagyermek (hu) Icelandic: stjúpbarn n Ido: stif-filio Indonesian: anak tiri (id) Japanese: 継子 (ja) (ままこ, mamako, けいし, keishi) (any child of a parent who is not a blood relation: could also be an adoptee or foster child), 連れ子 (ja) (つれこ, tsureko, つれっこ, tsurekko) (more specifically, a child from a previous marriage) Javanese: anak kuwalon Laz: პროღონი (p̌roğoni) Macedonian: дове́деник m (dovédenik), по́синок m (pósinok) Middle English: stepchild, stepbarn Old English: stēopċild n, stēopbearn n Plautdietsch: Steefkjint n Polish: pasierb (pl) m, pasierbica (pl) f Pontic Greek: προγόνιν (progónin) Portuguese: enteado (pt) m Russian: па́сынок (ru) m (pásynok), па́дчерица (ru) f (pádčerica), приёмная дочь f (prijómnaja dočʹ), приёмный сын m (prijómnyj syn) Scottish Gaelic: dalta m Sicilian: figghiastru Spanish: hijastro (es) m, hijastra (es) f Swedish: styvbarn (sv) n, (colloquial) plastbarn n Tagalog: anak na pangaman Turkish: üvey çocuk (tr), üvey evlat (tr) Volapük: (♂♀) lucil (vo), (♂) hilucil, (♀) jilucil

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Italian: (please verify) figliastro (it) m, (please verify) figliastra (it) f Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: (please verify) nevis (ku), (please verify) nevisî (ku)

See also

• Category:English terms prefixed with step-
• half-sibling, half-brother, half-sister
• step-grandchild, step-grandson, step-granddaughter
• step-niece, step-nephew, step-cousin

Middle English

Alternative forms

• steppe-child, stepchyld

Etymology

From Old English stēopċild (“stepchild”); equivalent to step- +‎ child.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛpˌt͡ʃiːld/

Noun

stepchild (plural stepchildren or stepchildre)

1. stepchild (child of a spouse)
2. (rare) orphan

Descendants

• English: stepchild

References

• “step-chīld, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.