stepfather

See also: step-father

English

Alternative forms

• step-father

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: step‧fa‧ther

Noun

stepfather (plural stepfathers)

1. (in the narrow sense) A husband of one's biological mother after her initial marriage to or relationship with one's biological father.
   • 1980, Gerald Ford, “Boyhood—and Beyond”, in A Time to Heal‎^[1], New York: Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 47:

     My stepfather loved me as much as he loved his own three sons. I knew how much he wanted to help me and how lacking in financial resources he was. Nothing could erase the image I gained of my real father that day: a carefree, well-to-do man who didn't really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son.

2. (in the broad sense) A husband of one's parent distinct from one's biological father or person with a similar relationship.
   • 2015, Werner A. Mueller, Monika Hassel, Maura Grealy, Development and Reproduction in Humans and Animal Model Species, Springer, →ISBN, page 188, column 2:

     In suboptimal cases the gynaecologist takes sperm from anonymous donors. In this case the husband can only be stepfather of the child.

   • 1953, Cyril Dean Darlington, The Facts of Life, page 433:

     Telegony or Inheritance from the Stepfather
     The earliest reference to telegony ( which has no connection with the son of Odysseus ) is supposed to be in 1665 but the classical case is that described in the Philosophical Transactions of […]

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Synonyms

• stepdad (informal)
• co-father
• father-in-law (dated)

Hypernyms

• stepparent

Derived terms

• ex-stepfather

 

Related terms

• stepaunt
• stepbrother
• stepchild
• stepdaughter
• stepfamily
• stepfather-in-law
• stepmother
• stepnephew
• stepniece
• stepsister
• stepson
• stepuncle

Translations

husband of one's biological mother, other than one's biological father

• Albanian: vitërk (sq) m, njerk (sq) m
• Arabic: زَوْج الْأُمّ m (zawj al-ʔumm), رابّ m (rābb)
• Armenian: խորթ հայր (xortʻ hayr), հորու (hy) (horu) (archaic), հորա (hy) (hora) (archaic)
• Aromanian: nuercu m, nercu m
• Asturian: padrastru (ast) m
• Azerbaijani: ögey ata
• Basque: aitaorde (eu)
• Belarusian: айчы́м m (ajčým)
• Bulgarian: вто́ри баща́ m (vtóri baštá), дове́ден баща́ m (dovéden baštá), пастро́к m (pastrók)
• Burmese: ပထွေး (my) (pa.htwe:)
• Catalan: padrastre (ca) m
• Central Sierra Miwok: hajˀi-
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 繼父／继父 (zh) (jìfù)

• Czech: nevlastní otec m, otčím (cs) m
• Danish: stedfar (da) c, bonusfar c
• Dutch: stiefvader (nl) m
• Esperanto: vicpatro, (sometimes) duonpatro
• Estonian: kasuisa
• Faroese: stjúkfaðir m
• Finnish: isäpuoli (fi)
• French: beau-père (fr) m, parâtre (fr) m
• Friulian: padreu m
• Galician: padrasto (gl) m
• Georgian: მამინაცვალი (maminacvali)
• German: Stiefvater (de) m, (gender-neutral) Stiefelternteil (de) m or n
• Greek: πατριός (el) m (patriós), θετός πατήρ m (thetós patír), θετός πατέρας m (thetós patéras)

  Ancient: πατρυιός m (patruiós)

• Hebrew: אׇב חׂרֵג \ אב חורג (he) m (av khorég)
• Hindi: सौतेला बाप m (sautelā bāp)
• Hungarian: mostohaapa (hu)
• Icelandic: stjúpfaðir m, stjúpi m
• Ido: stifa patro, stif-patro (io)
• Indonesian: ayah tiri (id), bapak tiri (id)
• Ingrian: isintimä, ätsintimä, ätsimä
• Irish: leasathair m
• Italian: patrigno (it) m
• Japanese: 継父 (ja) (けいふ, keifu, ままちち, mamachichi)
• Javanese: bapak kuwalon
• Kashmiri: وورٕ مول (vōrụ mōl)
• Kazakh: өгей әке (ögei äke)
• Korean: 계부(繼父) (gyebu), 새아버지 (saeabeoji), 의붓아버지 (uibusabeoji)
• Kumyk: оьгей ата (ögey ata)
• Kyrgyz: өгөй ата (ögöy ata)
• Latin: vītricus m, patraster m, novercus
• Latvian: patēvs m
• Lithuanian: patėvis m
• Luxembourgish: Stéifpapp
• Macedonian: очув m (očuv), потатко m (potatko)
• Malagasy: raikèly (mg)
• Maori: pāpā whakaangi, matua whakaangi, mātua kē
• Middle English: stepfader
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хойд эцэг (xojd eceg)

• Navajo: hazhéʼé ájíłʼíní, hazhéʼé jíłʼíní
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: stefar m

  Nynorsk: stefar m

• Old English: stēopfæder m
• Persian: ناپدری (fa) (nâpedari), پدندر (pedandar)
• Plautdietsch: Steefvoda m
• Polish: ojczym (pl) m
• Portuguese: padrasto (pt) m
• Romanian: tată vitreg (ro) m
• Russian: о́тчим (ru) m (ótčim), приёмный оте́ц m (prijómnyj otéc)
• Sardinian: bídrigu m, bítricu m, bídricu m, bídriu m, brídicu m, vídrigu m
• Scots: stap-faither
• Scottish Gaelic: oide m, leas-athair m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: о̏чӯх m, по̀очим m

  Roman: ȍčūh (sh) m, pòočim (sh) m

• Slovak: nevlastný otec m, otčim m
• Slovene: očim (sl) m
• Southern Altai: ӧӧй ада (ööy ada)
• Spanish: padrastro (es) m
• Swedish: styvfar (sv) c, styvfader (sv) c, (modern slang) plastpappa (sv) c, bonuspappa (sv), styvpappa
• Tagalog: amang-panguman
• Tajik: падарандар (padarandar), падари ӯгай (padari ügay)
• Telugu: సవతితండ్రి (savatitaṇḍri)
• Turkish: üvey baba (tr)
• Tuvan: соңгу ада (soñgu ada)
• Ukrainian: вітчи́м m (vitčým)
• Uzbek: oʻgay ota
• Vietnamese: bố dượng, cha kế
• Volapük: (♂♀) lupal, (♂) hilupal
• Welsh: llystad m
• Yiddish: שטיפֿטאַטע m (shtiftate)

Further reading

• “stepfather”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “stepfather, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “stepfather”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “stepfather”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “stepfather” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.