Online Etymology Dictionary

steenbok (n.): 1775, from Afrikaans steenbok, from Middle Dutch steenboc "wild goat," literally "stone buck," cognate with Old English stanbucca "mountain goat," German Steinbock. See stone (n.) + buck (n.1).
steep (adj.): "having a sharp slope," Old English steap "high, lofty; deep; prominent, projecting," from Proto-Germanic *staupaz (source also of Old Frisian stap "high, lofty," Middle High German *stouf), from PIE *steup-, extended form of root *(s)teu- (1) "to push, stick, knock, beat," with derivations referring to projecting objects (source also of Greek typtein "to strike," typos "a blow, mold, die;" Sanskrit tup- "harm," tundate "pushes, stabs;" Gothic stautan "push;" Old Norse stuttr "short"). The sense of "precipitous" is from c. 1200. The slang sense "at a high price" is a U.S. coinage first attested 1856. Related: Steeply; steepness. The noun meaning "steep place" is from 1550s.
steep (v.): "to soak in a liquid," early 14c., of uncertain origin, originally in reference to barley or malt, probably cognate with Old Norse steypa "to pour out, throw" (perhaps from an unrecorded Old English cognate), from Proto-Germanic *staupijanan. Related: Steeped; steeping.
steepen (v.): 1847, from steep (adj.) + -en (1). Related: Steepened; steepening.
steeple (n.): Old English stepel (Mercian), stiepel (West Saxon) "high tower," related to steap "high, lofty," from Proto-Germanic *staupilaz (see steep (adj.)). Also the name of a lofty style of women's head-dress from the 14th century. Steeple-house (1640s) was the old Quaker way of referring to "a church edifice," to avoid in that sense using church, which had with them a more restricted meaning.
steeplechase (n.): 1793 (earlier steeplehunt, 1772), from steeple + chase (n.). Originally an open-country horse race with a visible church steeple as a goal.
steeplejack (n.): "one who climbs steeples, chimneys, etc. to make repairs," 1881, from steeple + jack (n.) "fellow, man."
steepness (n.): mid-15c., from steep (adj.) + -ness.
steer (v.): "guide the course of a vehicle," originally by a rudder or something like it, Old English steran (Mercian), stieran (West Saxon) "steer, guide, direct; govern, rule; restrain, correct, punish," from Proto-Germanic *steurjan (source also of Old Norse styra, Old Frisian stiora, Dutch sturen, Old High German stiuren, German steuern "to steer," Gothic stiurjan "to establish, assert"), related to *steuro "a rudder, a steering," from PIE *steu-ro- (source also of Greek stauros "stake, pole"), extended form of root *stā- "to stand" (see stet).

The notion is of a stiff, upright pillar or post used in steering, or else perhaps "establish," hence "direct, steer." Intransitive sense also was in Old English. To steer clear of in the figurative sense of "to avoid completely" is recorded from 1723. Related: Steered; steering.
steer (n.): "young ox," Old English steor "bullock," from Proto-Germanic *steuraz (source also of Old Saxon stior, Old Norse stjorr, Swedish tjur, Danish tyr, Middle Dutch, Dutch, German stier, Gothic stiur "bull"), perhaps from PIE *steu-ro-, denoting "larger domestic animal" (see taurus). In U.S. of male beef cattle of any age.
steerable (adj.): 1836, originally of balloons, from steer (v.) + -able.
steerage (n.): c. 1400, "steering apparatus of a ship;" mid-15c., "action of steering," from steer (v.) + -age. Meaning "part of a ship in front of the chief cabin" is from 1610s; originally in the rear of the ship where the steering apparatus was, it retained the name after the introduction of the deck wheel in early 18c.; hence meaning "section of a ship with the cheapest accommodations," first recorded 1804, later found in the front part of a ship.
steering (n.): early 13c., verbal noun from steer (v.). Steering-wheel attested from 1750. Steering committee in the U.S. political sense is recorded from 1887.
stegosaurus (n.): type of plant-eating dinosaur, 1892, from Modern Latin order name Stegosauria (O.C. Marsh, 1877), from comb. form of Greek stegos "a roof" (related to stege "covering," stegein "to cover," from PIE root *(s)teg- (2) "to cover," especially "cover with a roof" (source also of Sanskrit sthag- "cover, conceal, hide;" Latin tegere "to cover;" Lithuanian stegti "roof;" Old Norse þekja, Old English þeccan "thatch;" Dutch dekken, German decken "to cover, put under roof;" Irish tuigiur "cover," tech "house;" Welsh toi "thatch, roof," ty "house") + -saurus. The back-armor plates in the fossilized remains look like roof tiles.
stein (n.): earthenware mug, 1855, from German Stein, shortened form of Steinkrug "stone jug," from Stein "stone" (see stone (n.)) + Krug "jug, jar." Compare Old English stæne "pitcher, jug."
steinbock (n.): German; see steenbok.
Steinway (n.): make of pianos, from Henry Englehard Steinway (1797-1871), celebrated German piano-builder who founded the firm in New York in 1853.
stele (n.): "upright slab," usually inscribed, 1820, from Greek stele "standing block, slab," especially one bearing an inscription, such as a gravestone, from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand" (see stall (n.1)). Related: Stelar.
stell (v.): "to fix in position" (obsolete or dialectal), Old English stellan "to place, put, set," from Proto-Germanic *stalljan (source also of German stellen; see stall (n.1)).
Stella: fem. proper name, from Latin stella "star" (see star (n.)).
stellar (adj.): 1650s, "pertaining to stars, star-like," from Late Latin stellaris "pertaining to a star, starry," from stella "star" (see star (n.)). Meaning "outstanding, leading" (1883) is from the theatrical sense of star.
stellate (adj.): c. 1500, "starry, star-spangled," from Latin stellatus "covered with stars," past participle of stellare "to set with stars," from stella (see star (n.)). Meaning "star-shaped" is recorded from 1660s.
stem (n.): Old English stemn, stefn "stem of a plant, trunk of a tree," also "either end-post of a ship," from Proto-Germanic *stamniz (source also of Old Saxon stamm, Old Norse stafn "stem of a ship;" Danish stamme, Swedish stam "trunk of a tree;" Old High German stam, German Stamm), from suffixed form of PIE root *stā- "to stand" (see stet).

Meaning "support of a wineglass" is from 1835. Meaning "unchanging part of a word" is from 1830. Stems slang for "legs" is from 1860. The nautical sense is preserved in the phrase stem to stern "along the full length" (of a ship), attested from 1620s. Stem cell attested by 1885.
stem (v.1): "to hold back," early 14c., from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse stemma "to stop, dam up; be stopped, abate," from Proto-Germanic *stamjan (source also of Swedish stämma, Old Saxon stemmian, Middle Dutch stemon, German stemmen "stop, resist, oppose"), from PIE root *stem- "to strike against something" (source also of Lithuanian stumiu "thrust, push"). Not connected to stem (n.). Related: Stemmed; stemming. Phrase to stem the tide is literally "to hold back the tide," but often is confused with stem (v.2) "make headway against."

Verbal phrase stems from (1932, American English), perhaps is from stem (v.) in the sense "to rise, mount up, have origin in" (1570s), or is influenced by or translates German stammen aus, probably from a figurative sense represented by English stem (n.) in the sense of "stock of a family, line of descent" (c. 1540; compare family tree, and German stammvater "tribal ancestor," literally "stem-father").
stem (v.2): "make headway by sailing, head in a certain course," late 14c., literally "to push the stem through," from stem (n.) in the "ship post" sense (here the post at the prow of the ship). Related: Stemmed; stemming.
stem-winder (n.): "excellent thing" (especially a rousing speech), 1892, from stem-winding watches (1875), which were advanced and desirable when introduced. See stem (n.) + wind (v.1).
Sten (n.): type of light, rapid-fire submachine gun, 1942, from initials of surnames of designers R.V. Shepherd and H.J. Turpin + En(field); compare Bren.
stench (n.): Old English stenc "a smell, odor, scent, fragrance" (either pleasant or unpleasant), from Proto-Germanic *stankwiz (source also of Old Saxon stanc, Old High German stanch, German stank). Related to stincan "emit a smell" (see stink (v.)) as drench is to drink. It tended toward "bad smell" in Old English (as a verb, only with this sense), and the notion of "evil smell" has predominated since c. 1200.
stencil (n.): 1707, not recorded again until 1848, probably from Middle English stencellen "decorate with bright colors," from Middle French estenceler "cover with sparkles or stars, powder with color," from estencele "spark, spangle" (Modern French étincelle), from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathesis of Latin scintilla "spark" (see scintilla).
stencil (v.): "to produce a design with a stencil," 1861, from stencil (n.). Related: Stenciled; stenciling (1781 as a verbal noun).
steno-: before vowels sten-, word-forming element meaning "narrow," from comb. form of Greek stenos "narrow, strait," as a noun "straits of the sea, narrow strip of land," also metaphorically, "close, confined; scanty, petty," from PIE *sten- "narrow."
stenographer (n.): 1796, agent noun formation from stenography.
stenography (n.): "shorthand," c. 1600, from steno- "narrow" + -graphy. Related: Stenographic; stenographical.
stenosis (n.): 1846, medical Latin, from Greek stenosis "narrowing," from stenoun "to narrow," from stenos "narrow" (see steno-) + -osis.
stent (n.): "tube implanted temporarily," 1964, named for Charles T. Stent (1807-1885), English dentist.
stentorian (adj.): "of powerful voice," c. 1600, from Stentor, legendary Greek herald in the Trojan War, whose voice (described in the "Iliad") was as loud as 50 men. His name is from Greek stenein "groan, moan," from PIE imitative root *(s)ten-, source of Old English þunor "thunder."
step (n.): Old English steppa (Mercian), stæpe, stepe (West Saxon) "stair, act of stepping," from the source of step (v.). Compare Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch stap, Old High German stapfo, German Stapfe "footstep"). From late Old English as "degree on a scale." Figurative meaning "action which leads toward a result" is recorded from 1540s. In dancing, from 1670s. Meaning "type of military pace" is from 1798. Warning phrase watch your step is attested from 1911 (Wyclif (late 14c.) has keep thy foot in essentially the same sense). Step by step indicating steady progression is from 1580s. To follow in (someone's) steps is from mid-13c.
step (v.): Old English steppan (Anglian), stæppan (West Saxon) "take a step," from West Germanic *stap- "tread" (source also of Old Frisian stapa, Middle Dutch, Dutch stappen, Old High German stapfon, German stapfen "step"), from PIE root *stebh- "post, stem; to support, place firmly on" (see staff (n.); source also of Old Church Slavonic stopa "step, pace," stepeni "step, degree"). The notion is perhaps "a treading firmly on; a foothold."

Transitive sense (as in step foot in) attested from 1530s. Related: Stepped; stepping. Originally strong (past tense stop, past participle bestapen); weak forms emerged 13c., universal from 16c. To step out "leave for a short time" is from 1530s; meaning "to go out in public in style" is from 1907. Step on it "hurry up" is 1923, from notion of gas pedal.
step-: Old English steop-, with connotations of "loss," in combinations like steopcild "orphan," related to astiepan, bestiepan "to bereave, to deprive of parents or children," from Proto-Germanic *steupa- "bereft" (source also of Old Frisian stiap-, Old Norse stjup-, Swedish styv-, Middle Low German stef-, Dutch stief-, Old High German stiof-, German stief-), literally "pushed out," from PIE *steup-, from root *(s)teu- (1) "to push, stick, knock," with derivatives referring to fragments (see steep (adj.)). Barnhart suggests the forms in -f- are by assimilation of the first sound in following words for "father."

Etymologically, a stepfather or stepmother is one who becomes father or mother to an orphan, but the notion of orphanage faded in 20c. and came to denote simply relation through marriage. For sense evolution, compare Latin privignus "stepson," related to privus "deprived." Compare orphan (n.).
step-dance (n.): one in which the steps are more important than the figure, especially one with difficult steps, 1857, from step (n.) + dance (n.). Related: Step-dancing (1872).
step-daughter (n.): Old English stepdohtor; see step- + daughter (n.). Similar formation in German Stieftochter.
step-ladder (n.): also stepladder, one with flat steps instead of rungs, 1728, from step (n.) + ladder.
step-sister (n.): also stepsister, mid-15c., from step- + sister (n.).
step-son (n.): also stepson, Old English steopsunu; see step- + son.
stepbrother (n.): also step-brother, mid-15c., from step- + brother (n.).
stepchild (n.): also step-child, Old English steopcild; see step- + child (n.). Old English also had steopbearn. Similar formation in German Stiefkind.
stepfather (n.): also step-father, Old English steopfæder; see step- + father.
Stephanie: fem. proper name, female form of Stephen. A top-20 name for girls born in U.S. 1969-1996.
Stephen: masc. proper name, from Latin Stephanus, from Greek Stephanos, from stephanos "crown, wreath, garland, chaplet; crown of victory," hence "victory, prize, honor, glory," properly "that which surrounds;" also used of the ring of spectators around a fight or the wall of a town, from stephein "to encircle, crown, wreathe, tie around," from PIE root *stebh- "post, stem; place firmly on, fasten" (see step (v.)). Exclusively a monk's name in Old English, it became common after the Conquest. Saint Stephen, stoned to death, was said to be Christianity's first martyr.
Stepin Fetchit: type of stereotypical black roles in Hollywood, or in popular culture generally, from stage name (a play on step and fetch it) of popular black vaudeville actor Lincoln Theodore Perry (1902-1985), who first appeared in films under that name in "In Old Kentucky" (1927). Perry said he took the name from a racehorse on which he'd won some money.