stepchild
Pluralstepchildren
- 1The child of one's spouse from an earlier relationship.
After the wedding, he slowly built a warm bond with his new stepchild.
Both stepchildren chose to keep their father's surname after the remarriage.
Note
An old compound, not a modern coinage: Old English stēopċild, step- joined to child, with close relatives in Dutch stiefkind, German Stiefkind and Swedish styvbarn. The plural follows child, giving stepchildren, never stepchilds. It belongs with the other step- words. Paula Span's 2024 New York Times reporting uses it alongside stepfamily in an article on elder care across stepfamilies.
- 2A child who has lost a father or mother; a bereaved child.
Note
Here the loss is a death, not a remarriage, and the usage is now obsolete. In older texts, read the word as a child who has lost a father or mother before assuming a stepparent is involved. Modern readers will understand it only as a spouse's child, so when you mean this sense today, write bereaved child or orphan instead.
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Origin
From Middle English stepchild, from Old English stēopċild, formed from step- and child. It is related to Dutch stiefkind, German Stiefkind, and Swedish styvbarn.