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Glite Dictionary
stepsister

stepsister

25 1.9
A girl who is related to you because your parent married her parent, not by blood
  • noun
  • /ˈstɛpˌsɪstər/
translation icon : hermanastra
  • Behind them waits the would-be stepsister—an attractive girl, a little older than Homer.

Examples

  • Yes, my stepbrother and stepsister are now running the business.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Ladies, say hello to your new stepsister.

    EverAfter (1998)

  • Yeah, I think that my stepsister brought most of it.

    Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

  • - Well, it's his stepsister.

    Tina and Lori (2021)

  • Now, think about your stepsister.

    Knocked Up (2007)

  • The thought of her becoming my stepsister makes me shudder.

    Homekilling Queen (2019)

  • - Bunny is my half-stepsister.

    Short Cuts (1993)

  • Our house was noisier since my new stepsister and stepmother moved in: Jen and Mom.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • There's a big wedding, and suddenly Sofia is a stepsister to Prince James and Princess Amber.

    Blog text (16)

  • My stepsister is coming to visit us this weekend.

Surface Forms

stepsister singular
stepsisters plural

Morphology

stepsister = step + sister (transparent) = step + sister

The kinship sense of 'step-' combined with 'sister' yields the expected meaning 'sister by marriage', which is directly inferable from the components.

Etymology

Stepsister is made of step and sister, and step here marks a family link 'by marriage' rather than 'by blood', just like in stepmother. So a stepsister is a sister you have when a parent marries someone new, not a sister you share by birth.