# stepfather

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #21,370

## Definitions
1. The husband of one's biological mother after her initial marriage to or relationship with one's biological father.
2. The husband of one's parent distinct from one's biological father or person with a similar relationship.

## Etymology
From Middle English stepfader, from Old English stēopfæder, from Proto-Germanic *steupafadēr (“stepfather”), equivalent to step- + father.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stäiffoar (“stepfather”), Dutch stiefvader (“stepfather”), German Low German Steevvader (“stepfather”), German Stiefvater (“stepfather”), Swedish styvfar (“stepfather”), Icelandic stjúpfaðir (“stepfather”).

## Easily confused with
- **stepmother** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stepfather-vs-stepmother)

## Common misspellings (16)
`setpfather`, `sstepfather`, `stefpather`, `stepafther`, `stepfahter`, `stepfatehr`, `stepfatherr`, `stepfathher`, `stepfathre`, `stepfatther`, `stepffather`, `stepftaher`, `steppfather`, `stpefather`, `sttepfather`, `tsepfather`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/stepfather