α. see foot n. and step n.1
β. Middle English fetsteppes (plural), Middle English ffetesteppe.
footstepn.
/ˈfʊtstɛp/, U.S. /ˈfʊtˌstɛp/ 1.
a. A print or impression left by the foot; a footprint; = step n.1 9a.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun] > left by the passage of something > of a person or animal
sleuthc1175
footstepa1300
feutea1375
treadc1400
fewea1425
foil1575
trail1590
carriage1600
sign1692
piste1696
spoor1823
worm-track1859
met1914
society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun] > left by the passage of something > of a person or animal > track of footprints > footprint
trod946
lastOE
foot sporeOE
tread?c1225
stepc1290
footstepa1300
solec1325
tracta1547
footprint1552
traces1552
footing1563
foot track1600
accub1623
vestigating1634
vestige1656
seal1686
sign1692
footmark1756
stabble1863
pelmatogram1890
paw print1894
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 4 Alle hise fet steppes after him he filleð.
c1390 Holy Cross (Vernon) l. 52 in R. Morris Legends Holy Rood (1871) 23 (MED) Euerich stude þat we on stepten for brende..For þe foule sunne þat we duden vr fet-steppes beoþ euer sene.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 174 Foote steppe, of a mann only, peda.
1595 Blanchardine & Eglantine v. B j b He had not ridden long, but he perceiued the tracktes & footsteps of a horse.
1611 Bible (King James) Bel & Dragon 20 I see the footsteps of men, women and children. View more context for this quotation
1686 T. D'Urfey Common-wealth of Women iv. i. 34 You see these Foot-steps, and the tracks new made, shew that they have bin here—hah!
1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 229 Trembling he views His Footsteps in the sand.
1769 F. Brooke Hist. Emily Montague I. ii. 8 During a course of more than two hundred miles, there is not the least appearance of a human footstep.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xvi, 111 I marched without hesitation or anxiety in the footsteps of my guide.
1928 Maryborough (Queensland) Chron. 15 Nov. 4/7 They discovered human footsteps in the sand.
1979 Washington Post 26 Nov. d1/2 Dr. Leakey last month discovered footsteps on the shore of a lake.
2011 T. Mgqolozana Hear Me Alone vi. 72 I shot my eyes down, concentrating on tracing my own footsteps back in the opposite direction.
b. In various figurative expressions referring to following a person's example or doing something another person has done before. Frequently in to follow (also walk, tread, etc.) in a person's footsteps. Cf. step n.1 10a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > direct one's conduct by a rule [verb (intransitive)] > follow an example
to follow (also walk, tread, etc.) in a person's footstepsc1485
to follow along1689
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) vii. 50 Sa sulde all knychtis lordis and princis folow..the futsteppis of thair ledare lord—and techour jhesu Crist.
1538 L. Ridley Expos. Epist. Iude sig. F.vi Many there is that entre the way of Cayn and foloweth his foote steppes, in his enuy and malyce drowned.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 116 Ȝe ar obleist to follou the futsteppis of ȝour predecessours in vertu.
1612 in M. C. Questier Newslett. Archpresbyterate G. Birkhead (1998) 187 Yet it seameth you are still in that vaine to those which follow his footesteppes; a thing that maketh me at my wittes end.
1668 J. Denham Poems 147 Clear-sighted Reason Wisdoms Judgment leads, And Sense, her Vassal, in her footsteps treads.
1724 J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. v. viii. 234 Nothing is more commendable, than to tread in the Footsteps of those who have gone before us, provided they have taken the right Road.
1767 W. Duff Ess. Orig. Genius ii. iii. 132 A Writer however, of the kind last mentioned, instead of tracing the footsteps of his predecessors, will allow his imagination to range over the field of Invention.
1832 J.-C.-L. S. de Sismondi Hist. Ital. Republics xiii. 283 Resolved on treading in the footsteps of Charlemagne and his paladins.
1878 J. P. Hopps Life Jesus x. 37 To call upon his sorrowing disciples to be prepared to follow in his footsteps.
1934 tr. N. N. Popov Outl. Hist. Communist Party of Soviet Union I. 335 The majority of the writers..followed in the footsteps of Plekhanov.
1978 Detroit Free Press 2 Apr. (Parade Suppl.) 24/1 Jones..will be following in Abdul-Jabbar's giant footsteps if he repeats on the first team in his junior and senior years.
2012 Daily Tel. 7 Dec. 38/5 He's also treading in august footsteps: Sir Christopher Wren was the first man to hold the post.
2. figurative. A mark, impression, or indication left by someone or something; a vestige, a trace; = step n.1 9b. Cf. footstepping n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun]
signa1382
stepa1382
ficchingc1384
marka1400
tracesc1400
scentc1422
footstep?a1425
tidinga1440
relicc1475
smell?a1505
stead1513
vestigy1545
print1548
token1555
remnant1560
show1561
mention1564
signification1576
footing?1580
tract1583
remainder1585
vestige1602
wrack1602
engravement1604
footstepping1610
resent1610
ghost1613
impression1613
remark1624
footprint1625
studdle1635
vestigium1644
relict1646
perception1650
vestigiary1651
track1657
symptom1722
signacle1768
ray1773
vestigia1789
footmark1800
souvenir1844
latent1920
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 116 (MED) Forsoþ as to vestigiez .i. stracez or fotesteppez, it shal be said withinforþ in the face of cicatricez of variolis.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 174 (MED) Foot stappe, vestigium.
1571 H. G. tr. G. Boccaccio Thirtene Plesant & Delectable Questions vij. sig. G.iiijv I sawe how he ascended by this light (leauing his footesteppes in your eyes).
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. v. 67 All these are traces, foot-steps, and images..of that high misterie.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 2 As touching their cruelty, I finde no footsteps in story.
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 211 There are plain and visible footsteps, that he has stole it.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron II. vii. xii. 157 What Footsteps are there in the Holy Scripture to make us think, that the wiredrawing of abstract Ideas was a Task injoined either Jews or Christians?
1782 J. Warton Ess. on Pope (ed. 4) I. ii. 22 Those who have most accurately examined the new Forest, can discover no mark or footstep of any other place of habitation..than what at present remains.
1884 C. Swynnerton Adventures of Rájá Rasálu 155 A land of mystery and wonder, abounding in footsteps of the ‘speechless past’.
1986 Stud. Eng. Lit. 1500–1900 26 551 A life of Puritan-style exegesis of the signs and traces of God's footsteps in the fallen world.
2011 Threepenny Rev. 125 23/3 I tracked Stevenson to the Inner Hebrides, and even found his footsteps in San Francisco.
3.
a. An act or instance of stepping with the foot; (also) the sound made by this, a footfall. Cf. step n.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > [noun] > stepping > a step, pace, or tread
stepsc1000
pacea1350
treadc1400
footstepc1440
treadingsc1440
footing1567
traces1613
footfalla1616
c1440 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1895) I. 305 To styrre his fotsteppis to walke in the waye.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 293 (MED) I am þe aungell off God sent for to nowmer þi fute-steppis.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xvi[i]. 5 Ordre thou my goynges in thy pathes, that my fote steppes slippe not.
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Fvij I euer set my fotestepps fre, Princelike where none had gone.
1608 T. Dekker Lanthorne & Candle-light sig. H2 Away they march arme in arme, being at euery foot-step fearfull to be set vpon by the Band of Halberdiers.
1665 R. Head Eng. Rogue I. viii. 55 Minding from whence the sound came as near as I could, I directed my foot-steps to that place.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 183 What Marks was there of any other Footsteps?
1797 A. Radcliffe Italian I. ix. 265 Wherever I go, I hear only the echoes of my own footsteps.
1855 Harper's Mag. July 234/1 Many a time my heart beat as I heard heavy footsteps ascending the stairs.
1898 Argosy Aug. 24 His quick ear caught the sound of footsteps close behind him.
1940 Scotsman 24 Aug. 9/5 The Scots in Poland travelled indeed to the theme of ‘ganging feet are aye getting’, but the footsteps of those Poles who came to Scotland went all too often to sadder music.
1980 T. Ireland Catherine Loves x. 76 It set Catherine's nerves on edge to hear his footsteps in the hall.
2011 M. Wonser My Eye 127 We walked with slow, small, deliberate, balanced, and graceful footsteps.
b. The distance covered by a step with the feet, used as a measurement; a very short distance or period of time; a small move or advance in a course of action. Cf. step n.1 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > pace or step
stridec725
stepc975
pacec1330
pass?c1400
pass?a1425
footstep1570
rhythm1778
1570 A. Golding tr. D. Chytræus Postil 395 This most shorte & miserable lyfe..is nothing els..but a span, but a footstep [Gk. ἴχνιου].
1631 T. Drue Life Dutches of Suffolke ii. sig. Dv Heere are two Pilgrims bound to Lyon-key,And neither knowes one footstep of the way.
1740 T. Stackhouse tr. T. S. Gueulette Chinese Tales (ed. 2) 6 Our August Sultan,..who, from the most unfortunate Condition, was advanc'd to the Throne of China, as if the one had been a Footstep to the other.
1796 J. G. Stedman Narr. Exped. Surinam I. vii. 142 Not a foot-step of land could we find, where we might cook our salt provisions in safety.
1857 F. Locker London Lyrics 11 At most 'tis a footstep from cradle to coffin.
1920 O. C. Simmonds Landscape-gardening viii. 126 A tread requiring three footsteps from one step to the next is allowable.
1992 Washington Post (Nexis) 6 June e7 There were those few weeks when the landscape seemed to be only a footstep away from the gates of heaven.
2011 Sphere Spring 111 (advt.) Footsteps beyond your table are the elegant comforts and amenities of Planters Inn.
4. A flat raised surface on which to place one's feet when moving from one level to another; a step, a stair; spec. one on the outside of a vehicle. Also (Fortification): †= foot bank n. at foot n. and int. Compounds 3 (obsolete). Cf. step n.1 II.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > other means of passage or access > [noun] > flight of steps > a step
stepc825
degreec1290
gree1303
stridea1400
grece1448
stair?1473
footstep1549
grade1698
stepping-stone1837
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 6th Serm. sig. Uiiv It is the fotesteppes of the ladder of heauen.
a1640 P. Massinger City-Madam (1658) iv. iv. 65 (stage direct.) The Footstep, little Table, and Arras hung up for the Musicians.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iv. x. 205 At the footestep of the Altar. View more context for this quotation
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison I. xxvii. 195 The chariot-door remaining open (I was not so ceremonious, as to let down the foot-step to take the gentleman out) I seized him by the collar.
1816 J. Austen Emma I. x. 184 She crossed the low hedge, and tottering footstep which ended the narrow, slippery path. View more context for this quotation
1860 Irish Times 22 Sept. The deceased was standing on the footstep of a railway carriage while it was in motion.
1906 Railway Accidents: Returns 216/1 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 3150) CVI. 1 Angus unnecessarily rode on the footstep of the engine.
1979 Register (Orange County, Calif.) 18 May d8/4 Marco Miles II..was left as a baby on the footstep of the jazz musicians' union.
2011 R. Lawhead Realms Thereunder 107 Rab Duthrie started up the tractor and they rolled off, Alex perched on the footstep.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > path or place for walking > [noun] > foot(-)path
walking path?a1425
footpatha1450
footwaya1450
foot roada1560
foot passage1614
footstep1620
foot track1672
footwalk1701
foot pavement1743
1620 J. Wilkinson Treat. Statutes conc. Coroners & Sherifes (new ed.) f. 119v High-waies or foot-steps stopped up.
6. † a. = footboard n. 3. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > lever > [noun] > operated by foot
treadle14..
treddle1671
footstep1678
footboard1721
treader1747
pedal1789
treadle mat1937
1678 Philos. Trans. 1677 (Royal Soc.) 12 1007 The Footsteps or Treddles differ in nothing from those which are usually made use of.
1755 New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. IV. 3358/2 The parts of the common weaver's loom... 28. the foot-bar: 29. the trundles, or moveable bars..: 30. the foot-step.
1861 U.S. Patent 32,072 2 The foot being placed on the foot-step or treadle, to move the bit and tool back and forth while they are revolved.
b. Printing. An inclined step or block beneath a hand printing press on which a person may step to gain greater leverage when operating the press.
ΚΠ
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 72 The Foot Step is an Inch-Board about a Foot broad, and sixteen Inches long.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 45 Footstep, the inclined footstool the pressman puts his foot on when pulling the bar over.
1999 B. Richardson Printing, Writers, & Readers Renaissance Italy i. 18 The puller..reached across with his right hand to grasp the bar, and pulled it towards himself, pushing with his foot against a footstep beneath the carriage.
c. = footstep bearing n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > parts of > support or bearing
headstock1688
brass1731
bearing1734
carriage1788
step1814
bearance1826
footstep1836
cod1839
pivot bearing1851
roller bearing1857
thrust-bearing1858
step-plate1869
thrust-bearer1869
needle bearing1870
journal-bearing1875
wall-bearing1875
plain bearing1893
tumbler-bearing1901
split bearing1902
sleeve bearing1907
thrust-box1918
taper roller bearing1930
1836 London Jrnl. Arts & Sci. 8 139 The pipe..is so constructed that it will support the footstep or bearing of the axis of the meter.
1872 S. E. Warren Elem. Machine Constr. & Drawing i. ii. A foot-step is the support of a vertical revolving shaft at its lower extremity.
1907 Amer. Machinist 19 Dec. 945/1 The foot step takes the weight of the spindle and acts as a center.
1967 U.S. Patent 3,300,260 3 In the lower portion this opening forms a cylindrical housing into which is driven a block or footstep.
Compounds
footstep bearing n. a bearing designed to support a vertical shaft or spindle, typically taking the form of a block having a cavity that accommodates the lower part of a shaft.
ΚΠ
1848 London Jrnl. Arts, Sci., & Manuf. 33 389 The hoops..being shown in section. a, is the bolster-bearing, and b, the footstep-bearing.
1921 Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times 23 Sept. 30/2 At the bottom of the mast is a footstep bearing.
1993 W. Bolton Mech. Sci. xiv. 360 A vertical shaft is supported in a footstep bearing of diameter 60 mm.
2009 A. A. Karad et al. Basic Mech. Engin. xi. 17 Footstep or pivot bearing... This is used in case of vertical shafts with axial loads.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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