Question: where does the phrase step parent come from

title: Stepfamily
text: The earliest recorded use of the prefix step - , in the form steop - , is from an 8th - century glossary of Latin - Old English words meaning `` orphan '' . Steopsunu is given for the Latin word filiaster and steopmoder for nouerca . Similar words recorded later in Old English include stepbairn , stepchild and stepfather . The words are used to denote a connection resulting from the remarriage of a widowed parent and are related to the word ástíeped meaning bereaved , with stepbairn and stepchild occasionally used simply as synonyms for orphan . Words such as stepbrother , stepniece and stepparent appeared much later and do not have any particular connotation of bereavement . Corresponding words in other Germanic languages include : Old High German stiuf - and Old Norse stjúp - . 

Answer: answer: The earliest recorded use of the prefix step-, in the form steop-, is from an 8th - century glossary of Latin - Old English words meaning ``orphan''.  Similar words recorded later in Old English include stepbairn, stepchild and stepfather.