steppe

See also: Steppe

English

Etymology

From German Steppe or French steppe, in turn from Russian степь (stepʹ, “flat grassy plain”) or Ukrainian степ (step). There is no generally accepted earlier etymology, but there is a speculative Old East Slavic reconstruction *сътепь (sŭtepĭ, “trampled place, flat, bare”), related to топот (topot), топтать (toptatĭ).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /stɛp/
  • Rhymes: -ɛp
  • Homophone: step

Noun

steppe (countable and uncountable, plural steppes)

  1. The grasslands of Eastern Europe and Asia. Similar to (North American) prairie and (African) savannah. [from 1671]
  2. More properly, the name given vast cold, dry grass-plains.
    • (Can we date this quote?) (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎:
      Grasslands: The Steppe biome is a dry, cold, grassland that is found in all of the continents except Australia and Antarctica. It is mostly found in the USA, Mongolia, Siberia, Tibet and China. There isn't much humidity in the air because Steppe is located away from the ocean and close to mountain barriers.

Usage notes

Although it may be the steppe biome, one would not normally speak of the steppes of Canada, whereas one would speak of the steppes of Asia or the steppes of Russia.

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

See also

References

  • Melʹnyčuk O. S., editor (1982–2012), “степ”, in Etymolohičnyj slovnyk ukrajinsʹkoji movy [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kiev: Naukova Dumka

Further reading

Anagrams

Danish

Noun

steppe c (definite singular steppen, indefinite plural stepper, definite plural stepperne)

  1. steppe (large treeless grass plain)

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈstɛpə/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

steppe f (plural steppes, diminutive steppetje n)

  1. steppe

Derived terms

French

Etymology

From Russian степь (stepʹ)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /stɛp/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

steppe f (plural steppes)

  1. steppe

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʃtɛpə/

Verb

steppe

  1. First-person singular present of steppen.
  2. First-person singular subjunctive I of steppen.
  3. Third-person singular subjunctive I of steppen.
  4. Imperative singular of steppen.

Italian

Noun

steppe f

  1. plural of steppa

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

steppe m (definite singular steppen, indefinite plural stepper, definite plural steppene)

  1. steppe (large treeless grass plain)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

steppe f (definite singular steppa, indefinite plural stepper, definite plural steppene)

  1. steppe (large treeless grass plain)
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