The story
- Old English · inherited from*fōtstepe
- Middle English · inherited fromfotstep
- English todayfootstep
From Middle English fotstep, fotstappe, from Old English *fōtstepe, *fōtstæpe (attested only in derivative fōtstappel (“footstep”)), equivalent to foot + step. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Foutstappe (“footstep”), West Frisian fuotstap (“footstep”), Dutch voetstap (“footstep”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.