ENGLISH
REFERENCE

stepfather

n. countable
A2 Elementary US //ˈstɛpˌfɑðɝ// UK //stˈɛpfɑːðɐ// step·fa·ther

n. the man who is married to your mother but is not your biological father. You usually get a stepfather after your parents divorce or one parent dies and the other marries again.

n. a man who has married one's mother after the death or divorce of one's biological father. Refers to a relationship established through legal marriage rather than biological descent.


SIMPLE

My stepfather takes me to football practice every Saturday.

CONTEXTUAL

After her mother remarried, she found it took several months to adjust to having a stepfather in the house.

COMPLEX

The novel explores the delicate emotional landscape of a young boy attempting to integrate his new stepfather into a family unit still mourning the loss of his biological father.

Origin

From Middle English stepfader, from Old English stēopfæder, from Proto-Germanic *steupafadēr (“stepfather”), equivalent to step- + father. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stäiffoar (“stepfather”), Dutch stiefvader (“stepfather”), German Low German Steevvader (“stepfather”), German Stiefvater (“stepfather”), Swedish styvfar (“stepfather”), Icelandic stjúpfaðir (“stepfather”).

Usage

Commonly used with possessive adjectives like 'my' or 'her'.

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