steppe

From German Steppe or French steppe, in turn from Russian степь (stepʹ, “flat grassy plain”) or Ukrainian степ (step). There is no generally accepted earlier etymology, but there is a speculative Old East Slavic reconstruction *сътепь (sŭtepĭ, “trampled place, flat, bare”), related to топот (topot), топтать (toptatĭ).

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /stɛp/
• Rhymes: -ɛp
• Homophone: step

steppe (countable and uncountable, plural steppes)

1. The grasslands of Eastern Europe and Asia. Similar to (North American) prairie and (African) savannah. [from 1671]
2. More properly, the name given vast cold, dry grass-plains.
   • 2000, Mary Elizabeth v. N., “Steppe”, in Blue Planet Biomes‎, West Tisbury Elementary School:

     Grasslands: The Steppe biome is a dry, cold, grassland that is found in all of the continents except Australia and Antarctica. It is mostly found in the USA, Mongolia, Siberia, Tibet and China. There isn't much humidity in the air because Steppe is located away from the ocean and close to mountain barriers.

Although it may be the steppe biome, one would not normally speak of the steppes of Canada, whereas one would speak of the steppes of Asia or the steppes of Russia.

• US prairie
• savannah
• plain
• (South African) veld

• Melʹnyčuk O. S., editor (1982–2012), “степ”, in Etymolohičnyj slovnyk ukrajinsʹkoji movy [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kiev: Naukova Dumka

• steppe on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• Estepp

steppe c (definite singular steppen, indefinite plural stepper, definite plural stepperne)

1. steppe (large treeless grass plain)

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛpə/

• Audio

  (file)

steppe f (plural steppes, diminutive steppetje n)

1. steppe

• steppenroller

From Russian степь (stepʹ)

• IPA^(key): /stɛp/

• Audio

  (file)

steppe f (plural steppes)

1. steppe

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃtɛpə/

steppe

1. First-person singular present of steppen.
2. First-person singular subjunctive I of steppen.
3. Third-person singular subjunctive I of steppen.
4. Imperative singular of steppen.

steppe f

1. plural of steppa

• stepe, stape, steape, stap, step, steepe

From Old English stæpe, stepe, from Proto-Germanic *stapiz, *stapǭ. The (historical) geminate is influence from steppen.

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛp(ə)/, /ˈstɛːp(ə)/, /ˈstap(ə)/, /ˈstaːp(ə)/

steppe (plural steppes or stepen)

1. A step, pace (movement of the foot)
2. A step or stair; a individual landing of a set of stairs.
3. An imprint or sign of something; that which something leaves as evidence:
   1. The imprint left by a step; a footprint or track.
   2. The imprint left by a thing, person or phenomenon (extant or former)
   3. (figuratively) The remains left by an injury or disease.
4. The bottom region of the foot; the sole.
5. A phase, step or tier as part of a scale or process.
6. (figuratively) A move, action or direction (towards an objective).
7. (rare) The length covered by a step (as a unit of length, ~2.5 feet)
8. (rare) The ground; a foothold or stepping-place.
9. (rare) A group or a thing that is part of it.

• English: step
• Scots: step, stap, stop

• “step (n.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-1.

steppe m (definite singular steppen, indefinite plural stepper, definite plural steppene)

1. steppe (large treeless grass plain)

steppe f (definite singular steppa, indefinite plural stepper, definite plural steppene)

1. steppe (large treeless grass plain)