stepdame

[ step-deym ]

/ ˈstɛpˌdeɪm /

Save This Word!

noun Archaic.

a stepmother.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of stepdame

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at step-, dame

Words nearby stepdame

step by step, stepchair, step change, stepchild, step cut, stepdame, stepdance, stepdaughter, step-down, stepfamily, stepfather

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stepdame in a sentence

The young brood (twelve in number) came into the world at the usual period, but one only continued with her stepdame.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts
Insomuch as it is hard to judge, whether in so doing she hath done the part of a kind mother, or a hard and cruell stepdame.
Notes and Queries, Number 233, April 15, 1854|Various
I haue a stepdame I warrant you, and myne husbandes mother euen such another.
A Merry Dialogue Declaringe the Properties of Shrowde Shrews and Honest Wives|Desiderius Erasmus

British Dictionary definitions for stepdame

stepdame

/ (ˈstɛpˌdeɪm) /

noun

an archaic word for stepmother

Word Origin for stepdame

C14: from step- + dame (in the archaic sense: mother; see dam ²)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012