An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Stapfe

by Friedrich Kluge

Stapfe, masculine, ‘footprint, footstep,’ from the equivalent Middle High German stapfe, Old High German stapfo (staffo), masculine; allied to Middle High German and Old High German stępfen, also Middle High German stapfen, Old High German stapfôn, ‘to tread,’ which corresponds to the Anglo-Saxon strong verb stœppan. Compare Dutch stap, ‘step,’ stappen, ‘to step,’ and the English word step. The Teutonic verbal root stap, ‘to tread, step, go,’ to which Staffel and Stufe are allied, appears in a nasalised form in the cognate stampfen. From Teutonic is borrowed Italian staffa, ‘stirrup,’ whence staffetta, ‘courier,’ is derived. Since the Aryan root stab may have had a variant slap, it is possible that Old Slavonic stopa, ‘track,’ is primitively allied to Stapfe.