Footstep

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈfʊtstɛp/

Definitions

1. The sound or mark made by a foot when walking, or the distance covered in a single step while moving on foot
2. The impression or noise created by a single foot in motion, as well as the measure of progress taken with each stride on foot while traveling
3. A single mark or sound resulting from the movement of a foot, which also reflects the distance traveled in one step during walking

Etymology: The word is a plain compound: "foot" plus "step," both of which go back to the earliest layers of English. Its Old English ancestor was a reconstructed form, "fōtstepe" or "fōtstæpe," which survives in the attested derivative "fōtstappel," meaning the same thing. Middle English then wrote it as "fotstep" or "fotstappe," and the modern spelling settled in later. The compound is shared across the North Sea region. Dutch "voetstap," West Frisian "fuotstap," and Saterland Frisian "Foutstappe" all mean "footstep" and are built the same way, so the idea of naming a mark left by a foot after the foot and the act of stepping appears to be very old among the Germanic languages. The word therefore describes the trace as much as the motion: the print left behind and the stride that made it are one thing in the name.

Synonyms: step, tread, stride, pace, track

Antonyms: stillness, halt, standstill, inactivity, immobility