stepdaughter - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English stepdoughter, stepdoghter, steopdohter, from Old English stēopdohtor (“stepdaughter”), from Proto-Germanic *steupaduhtēr (“stepdaughter”), equivalent to step- +‎ daughter.

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stäifdochter (“stepdaughter”), West Frisian styfdochter (“stepdaughter”), Dutch stiefdochter (“stepdaughter”), German Low German Steevdochter (“stepdaughter”), German Stieftochter (“stepdaughter”), Danish steddatter (“stepdaughter”), Swedish styvdotter (“stepdaughter”), Icelandic stjúpdóttir (“stepdaughter”).

stepdaughter (plural stepdaughters)

  1. The daughter of one's spouse from a previous relationship.
    • 2013 September 8, Wayne Darsh, “A child of war, with a sense of purpose”, in CNN‎[1], archived from the original on 15 July 2025:
      Shannon Spann had an infant, Jake, to care for and two stepdaughters to suddenly raise by herself.
    • 2026 March 24, Dan Gooding, “ICE Detains Canadian Mom with 7-Year-Old Autistic Daughter”, in Newsweek‎[2], archived from the original on 24 March 2026:
      ICE agents then took his stepdaughter in to get her prints, Edward said, and neither returned. The pair were initially transported to a Rio Grande detention facility, before being transferred to Dilley.

daughter of one's spouse and not of oneself