stepchild

English

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

• 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^[1]:

     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)
• German: Stiefkind (de) n
• Greek: θετό τέκνο n (thetó tékno), πρόγονος (el) (prógonos)
• 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
• 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.