bestep
English
Etymology
From Middle English bisteppen, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English besteppan (“to tread upon, step, go, enter”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *bistapjaną (“to enter”), equivalent to be- + step. Cognate with Dutch bestappen.
Verb
bestep (third-person singular simple present besteps, present participle bestepping, simple past and past participle bestepped or (archaic) bestept)
- (transitive) To step on; step over, tread upon.
- 1966, State University of New York College at Fredonia. Dept. of English-Speech, Drama and theatre:
- And also it is using non-necessary spiritual attentions, because we see the dog in the way and we say "excuse me," and we notify a piddle in the street and we are worried not to bestep it.
- (intransitive) To step; take steps; walk.
- 1919, Daniel Leavens Cady, Rhymes of Vermont rural life:
- One wintry day up drove the stage And out bestepped Miss Nancy Page, […]
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms prefixed with be-
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English intransitive verbs