An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Stapfe
Stapfe, m., ‘footprint, footstep,’ from the equiv. MidHG. stapfe, OHG. stapfo (staffo), m.; allied to MidHG. and OHG. stępfen, also MidHG. stapfen, OHG. stapfôn, ‘to tread,’ which corresponds to the AS. str. vb. stœppan. Comp. Du. stap, ‘step,’ stappen, ‘to step,’ and the E. word step. The Teut. verbal root stap, ‘to tread, step, go,’ to which Staffel and Stufe are allied, appears in a nasalised form in the cognate stampfen. From Teut. is borrowed Ital. staffa, ‘stirrup,’ whence staffetta, ‘courier,’ is derived. Since the Aryan root stab may have had a variant slap, it is possible that OSlav. stopa, ‘track,’ is primit. allied to Stapfe.