Etymology of the word steppe

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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).

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

steppe (countable and uncountable, plural steppes)

The grasslands of Eastern Europe and Asia. Similar to (North American) prairie and (African) savanna. [from 1671]
- 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 187:
  
  Enkidu was the hairy man of the wild steppes, and Gilgamesh was the hero of civilization; but now the contrast is between Gilgamesh, the king, the man of political power, the heroic man of action, the extrovert, and Utnapishtim, the man of religious authority, the introvert, the sage.
A vast, cold, dry grass-plain.
- 2000, Mary Elizabeth v. N., “Steppe”, in Blue Planet Biomes‎^[1], 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.

Usage notes[edit]

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.

Derived terms[edit]

forest steppe
mammoth steppe
shrubsteppe
steppe eagle
steppe mammoth
steppe-tundra
steppic

Translations[edit]

the grasslands of Eastern Europe and Asia

Akkadian: 𒂔𒈾 (ṣēru) (), 𒂔 (ṣēru) ()
Arabic: مَرْعَى‎ f (marʕā), سْتِيب‎ m (steb), سْتِيب‎ m (stīb)
Armenian: տափաստան (hy) (tapʿastan)
Azerbaijani: çöl (az)
Bashkir: дала (dala)
Belarusian: стэп f (step)
Bulgarian: степ (bg) f (step)
Catalan: estepa (ca) f
Chinese:

Mandarin: 草原 (zh) (cǎoyuán), 乾草原／干草原 (gāncǎoyuán)
Crimean Tatar: çöl
Czech: step (cs) f
Danish: steppe (da) c
Esperanto: stepo (eo)
Finnish: aro (fi)
French: steppe (fr) f
Georgian: ველი (veli)
German: Steppe (de) f
Greek: στέπα (el) (stépa)
Hindi: स्तपी (stapī)
Hungarian: sztyepp (hu)
Icelandic: gresja (is) f, steppa f
Italian: steppa (it)
Japanese: ステップ (ja) (suteppu), 草原 (ja) (そうげん, sōgen)
Kazakh: дала (dala), сахара (saxara)
Korean: 스텝 (ko) (seutep)
Kyrgyz: талаа (ky) (talaa), чөл (ky) (çöl)
Lithuanian: stèpė f
Macedonian: степа f (stepa)
Mongolian: хээр тал (xeer tal), тал (mn) (tal), хээр (mn) (xeer)
Norwegian:

Bokmål: steppe (no) m

Nynorsk: steppe (no) f
Occitan: estèpa f
Persian: استپ‎ (fa) (estep)
Polish: step (pl) m inan
Portuguese: estepe (pt) f
Romanian: stepă (ro) f
Russian: степь (ru) f (stepʹ)
Serbo-Croatian: stȅpa (sh) f, сте̏па f
Slovak: step f
Southern Altai: чӧл (čöl)
Spanish: estepa (es) f
Sumerian: 𒂔 (EDIN)
Swedish: stäpp (sv) c
Tatar: дала (tt) (dala)
Turkish: bozkır (tr), step (tr)
Turkmen: sähra (tk)
Tuvan: хову (xovu)
Ukrainian: степ f (step)
Urum: чӧль (čölʹ)
Uzbek: dasht (uz), choʻl (uz)
Vietnamese: thảo nguyên (vi) (草原)

vast cold, dry grass-plains

Armenian: տափաստան (hy) (tapʿastan)
German: Steppe (de) f
Japanese: 草原 (ja) (そうげん, sōgen)
Macedonian: степа f (stepa)
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Portuguese: estepe (pt) f
Russian: степь (ru) f (stepʹ)
Serbo-Croatian: stȅpa (sh) f
Swedish: stäpp (sv) c
Welsh: gwaun f, gweundir m, paith m, stepdir m

References[edit]

Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “степ”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka

Anagrams[edit]

Estepp

Danish[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

steppe (large treeless grass plain)

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from German Steppe or French steppe, from Russian степь (stepʹ, “flat grassy plain”).

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /ˈstɛpə/
Hyphenation: step‧pe
Rhymes: -ɛpə

Noun[edit]

steppe f (plural steppes, diminutive steppetje n)

steppe

Derived terms[edit]

steppekiekendief
steppenroller

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Russian степь (stepʹ).

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /stɛp/

Noun[edit]

steppe f (plural steppes)

steppe

Derived terms[edit]

aigle des steppes

Descendants[edit]

→ Italian: steppa
→ Romanian: stepă
→ Turkish: step

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /ˈʃtɛpə/

Verb[edit]

steppe

inflection of steppen:
1. first-person singular present
2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
3. singular imperative

Italian[edit]

Noun[edit]

steppe f

plural of steppa

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

stap, stape, steape, steepe, step, stepe

Etymology[edit]

From Old English stæpe, stepe, from Proto-West Germanic *stapi. The (historical) geminate is due to the influence of steppen.

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

steppe (plural steppes)

A step, pace (movement of the foot)
A step or stair; an individual landing of a set of stairs.
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. (figurative) The remains left by an injury or disease.
The bottom region of the foot; the sole.
A phase, step or tier as part of a scale or process.
(figurative) A move, action or direction (towards an objective).
(rare) The length covered by a step (as a unit of length, ~2.5 feet)
(rare) The ground; a foothold or stepping-place.
(rare) A group or a thing that is part of it.

Descendants[edit]

English: step
Scots: step, stap, stop

References[edit]

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

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

steppe (large treeless grass plain)

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

steppe (large treeless grass plain)

Источник

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We see evidence that lakes and forests and wetlands can have different equilibria — so you have a savanna system that may be stable and thriving, but it can also tip over and become an arid steppe if pushed too far by warming, land degradation, and biodiversity loss.

Johan Rockstrom

From Old Russian step lowland.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF STEPPE

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF STEPPE

Steppe is a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES STEPPE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

steppe

Steppe

In physical geography, a steppe (Ukrainian: степ Russian: степь, tr. step’, IPA: ( listen)) is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. The prairie (especially the shortgrass and mixed prairie) is an example of a steppe, though it is not usually called such. It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude. The term is also used to denote the climate encountered in regions too dry to support a forest, but not dry enough to be a desert. The soil is typically of chernozem type. Steppes are usually characterized by a semi-arid and continental climate. Extremes can be recorded in the summer of up to 40 °C (104 °F) and in winter, –40 °C (–40 °F). Besides this huge difference between summer and winter, the differences between day and night are also very great. In the highlands of Mongolia, 30 °C (86 °F) can be reached during the day with sub-zero °C (sub 32 °F) readings at night.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH STEPPE

Synonyms and antonyms of steppe in the English dictionary of synonyms

Translation of «steppe» into 25 languages

TRANSLATION OF STEPPE

Find out the translation of steppe to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of steppe from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «steppe» in English.

Translator English — Chinese

草原

1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English — Spanish

estepa

570 millions of speakers

English

steppe

510 millions of speakers

Translator English — Hindi

मैदान

380 millions of speakers

Translator English — Arabic

السهوب

280 millions of speakers

Translator English — Russian

степь

278 millions of speakers

Translator English — Portuguese

estepe

270 millions of speakers

Translator English — Bengali

প্রান্তর

260 millions of speakers

Translator English — French

steppe

220 millions of speakers

Translator English — Malay

Padang rumput

190 millions of speakers

Translator English — German

Steppe

180 millions of speakers

Translator English — Japanese

大草原地帯

130 millions of speakers

Translator English — Korean

대초원

85 millions of speakers

Translator English — Javanese

Steppe

85 millions of speakers

Translator English — Vietnamese

đồng hoang

80 millions of speakers

Translator English — Tamil

புல்வெளி

75 millions of speakers

Translator English — Marathi

पुष्कळ सुळके

75 millions of speakers

Translator English — Turkish

bozkır

70 millions of speakers

Translator English — Italian

steppa

65 millions of speakers

Translator English — Polish

step

50 millions of speakers

Translator English — Ukrainian

степ

40 millions of speakers

Translator English — Romanian

stepă

30 millions of speakers

Translator English — Greek

στέπα

15 millions of speakers

Translator English — Afrikaans

steppe

14 millions of speakers

Translator English — Swedish

stäpp

10 millions of speakers

Translator English — Norwegian

steppe

5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of steppe

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «STEPPE»

The term «steppe» is quite widely used and occupies the 40.923 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Trends

FREQUENCY

Quite widely used

The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «steppe» in the different countries.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of steppe

List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «steppe».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «STEPPE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «steppe» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «steppe» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about steppe

QUOTES WITH «STEPPE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word steppe.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «STEPPE»

Discover the use of steppe in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to steppe and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia

They are «capitalists — enemies of the people.» Forced from their home and friends in Vilna, Poland, they are herded into crowded cattle cars. Their destination: the endless steppe of Siberia.

Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe

The Chang Tang, the vast, remote Tibetan steppe, is home to a unique assemblage of large mammals. Since 1985, George B. Schaller and his Chinese and Tibetan coworkers have surveyed the flora and fauna of the Chang Tang.

Young Giovanni Drogo arrives at the bleak border area of the Tartar Steppe where he is to take a short assignment at Fort Bastiani, an encampment manned by veteran soldiers who have grown old without seeing a trace of the enemy.

Mounted Archers of the Steppe 600 BC-AD 1300

This book details the history, weapons, equipment and tactics of these fascinating warriors.

Village, Steppe and State: The Social Origins of Modern Jordan

The contributors to this text on the origins of modern Jordan have based their approach on original fieldwork and archives in Jordan, rather than on foreign archives, and avoid viewing the Jordanian state in the context of British imperial …

Eugene Rogan, Tariq Tell, 1994

Frozen Fauna of the Mammoth Steppe: The Story of Blue Babe

These mummies, their ecology, and their preservation are the subject of this compelling book by paleontologist Dale Guthrie.

Taming the Wild Field: Colonization and Empire on the …

Willard Sunderland chronicles the colonization of the Russian steppes & discusses how the steppe lands have changed in the Russian imagination over time, from the ‘wild field’ of the middle ages, to the iconic status of the 19th century, …

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe : A Long-Term Perspective: …

This volume is an enormously rich source of data and insight into the structure and function of a semiarid grassland.

Department of Rangeland Ecosystem Science Colorado State University W. K. Lauenroth Professor, I. C. Burke Department of Forest Sciences Colorado State University, 2008

Europe’s Steppe Frontier, 1500-1800

In Europe’s Steppe Frontier, acclaimed historian William H. McNeill analyzes the process whereby the thinly occupied grasslands of southeastern Europe were incorporated into the bodies-social of three great empires: the Ottoman, the …

Prehistoric steppe adaptation and the horse

This volume examines the origins of horse husbandry and pastoralism — especially nomadic pastoralism — in the Eurasian steppe.

Marsha Ann Levine, Colin Renfrew, Katherine V. Boyle, 2003

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «STEPPE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term steppe is used in the context of the following news items.

Steppe Cement Sales Increase In First-Half, Says Prices Are Improving

LONDON (Alliance News) — Kazakh construction material producer Steppe Cement Ltd Tuesday said it sold more cement in the first-half of 2015 as prices fell by … «London South East, Jul 15»

Agencies Launch Effort To Reduce Fires In Idaho Sagebrush Steppe

The agency says fire helps invasive cheatgrass take over sagebrush steppe areas and … The sagebrush steppe is habitat for sage grouse, which is under … «Boise State Public Radio, May 15»

Smart city on the Mongolian steppe

This month, Mongolia’s parliament will vote on the feasibility of the construction of a new cultural and religious capital – ‘Maidar’ – out in the steppe 30km from … «Geographical, May 15»

HS Roundup: Steppe, McIntrye lead Wall past Red Bank boys lacrosse

Michael Steppe had five goals, Michael McIntyre had two goals and two assists and Liam Ferguson had three assists as the Wall boys lacrosse team defeated … «Asbury Park Press, Apr 15»

Kazakhstan: The Slumbering Steppe

One day last summer, Viktor Kazachenko set off across the steppe from his village in northern Kazakhstan, driving to the nearest town on some errands — but he … «The Moscow Times, Mar 15»

Some European Languages Came by Steppe

But as with any academic theory, there’s a competing idea: the so-called «steppe hypothesis.» Which says it was herders—not farmers—who galloped in from the … «Scientific American, Mar 15»

North Europeans migrated from steppe: DNA

The Yamnaya were herders who lived in the steppe north of the Black and Aral seas. Their genes are still present in varying degrees in contemporary … «The Japan Times, Mar 15»

Steppe migration spread languages across Europe, DNA study shows

The researchers say that since major language replacements are believed to require large-scale migration, the huge influx of ancient steppe DNA still in many … «Al Jazeera America, Mar 15»

The Tangled Roots of English

This steppe theory, favored by many linguists, holds that the proto-Indo-European speakers then spread their language to Europe, India and western China, … «New York Times, Feb 15»

Indo-European Languages Originated in Pontic-Caspian Steppe …

Proto-Indo-European was spoken around 4,500 BC in the Pontic-Caspian steppe – the steppeland stretching from Moldova and western Ukraine across the … «Sci-News.com, Feb 15»

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Steppe [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/steppe>. Apr 2023 ».

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Источник

Meaning of STEPPE in English

noun Etymology: Russian step’ Date: 1671 one of the vast usually level and treeless tracts in southeastern Europe or Asia, arid land with xerophilous vegetation found usually in regions of extreme temperature range and loess soil

Merriam Webster.
Explanatory English dictionary Merriam Webster.

Толковый словарь английского языка Мерриам-Уэбстер.
2012

Источник

Steppe

steppe

— 1671, from Rus. *step’, of unknown origin.

См. в других словарях

(steppes) Steppes are large areas of flat grassy land where there are no trees, especially the area that stretches from Eastern Europe across the south of the former Soviet Union to Siberia. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl …

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

noun Etymology: Russian step’ Date: 1671 1. one of the vast usually level and treeless tracts in southeastern Europe or Asia 2. arid land with xerophilous vegetation found usually in regions of extreme temperature range and loess soil …

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary

n. a level grassy unforested plain, esp. in SE Europe and Siberia. Etymology: Russ step’ …

Толковый словарь английского языка Oxford English Reference

степь – bunchgrass steppe – desert steppe – feather-grass steppe – forb steppe – forest steppe – grassland steppe – herb-bunchgrass steppe – high-mountain steppe – meadow steppe – mountain steppe – saz steppe – semidesertic steppe – shrub steppe – stipa steppe – thorn steppe – wermuth steppe – wooded steppe …

Англо-русский Русско-английский биологический словарь

Новый большой англо-русский словарь

rus. noun степь Syn: see plain …

Англо-русский словарь

Вопрос-ответ:

Synonyms

Example Sentences

nomads have long grazed yaks on the steppes of Mongolia

Recent Examples on the Web

The study also looked at the final era of hunter-gatherers in Europe, beginning 10,000 years ago as warming continued to transform the open steppe to dense forests and rich wetlands.

—Byandrew Curry, science.org, 1 Mar. 2023

From boggy northern wetlands to raging street fighting in the east to the treeless southern steppe, each range of terrain presents its own set of challenges and openings for Russian invaders and the Ukrainians intent on expelling them.

—Steve Hendrix And Serhii Korolchuk, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Feb. 2023

The farmland of the steppe offered little natural cover for an attacking force, and a maze of irrigation canals as obstacles.

—Kamila Hrabchuk, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2022

Ukraine’s forces early in the war pulled back to cities to avoid fighting a larger army in unprotected areas in the country’s vast steppe and have avoided staying in barracks and bases because Russian forces have targeted them with cruise missiles.

—Isabel Coles, WSJ, 6 Aug. 2022

This is what the brotherhood of the steppe craved, and this is what the often captured.

—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 24 June 2013

Such a test tube mammoth wouldn’t just be a feat for genetics, but, some researchers contend, might help revive ancient ecological reactions among the world’s remaining steppe habitats.

—Riley Black, Discover Magazine, 28 Nov. 2022

Researchers are discovering vestiges of lost worlds, preserved by the now-impermanent permafrost, from tools and weapons of early human societies to the corpses of mammoths and wolves that once roamed the Siberian steppe.

—Jody Rosen, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2022

On the order of 4,000 years ago the domestication of the horse allowed for the expansion of Indo-European populations from east-central Eurasia across the steppe.

—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2010

See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘steppe.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of steppe was
in 1671

Dictionary Entries Near steppe

Cite this Entry

“Steppe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steppe. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.

More from Merriam-Webster on steppe

Last Updated:
2 Apr 2023
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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Источник

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Usage notes[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Danish[edit]

Noun[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Further reading[edit]

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

Italian[edit]

Noun[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Noun[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Noun[edit]