English Explanatory Dictionary

steppe

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The grasslands of Eastern Europe and Asia.
  2. A vast, cold, dry, grassy plain.

Pronunciation

/stɛp/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-steppe.wav

Word forms

steppe steppes

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).

Derived words

forest steppe mammoth steppe shrubsteppe steppe bison steppe cat steppe eagle steppe fox steppeland steppe lemming steppelike steppe lion steppe mammoth steppe murrain steppe-tundra steppe vole steppe wisent steppe-witch steppic steppification
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