stepping stone

See also: steppingstone, and stepping-stone

English

Alternative forms

• stepping-stone
• steppingstone

Etymology

First attested circa 1325; first used in the figurative sense circa 1653.

Pronunciation

• enPR: stĕpʹĭng-stōn′
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛp.ɪŋ stəʊn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛp.ɪŋ stoʊn/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛp.ɪŋ stɐʉn/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

stepping stone (plural stepping stones)

1. A stone that can be stepped on in crossing something, especially a marsh or creek.
   • 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:

     Falling—her veriest stepping-stone
     Shall form the pedestal of a throne— […]

2. (idiomatic) Something used as a way to progress to something or somewhere else.

   He was full of ambition, and force, and life, intending all sorts of great things, and meaning to make his position a stepping stone to all that was excellent in public life.

   Esperanto can make a good stepping stone language to Latin, which may be difficult for amateur linguists.

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto I:

     I held it truth, with him who sings
     ⁠To one clear harp in divers tones,
     ⁠That men may rise on stepping-stones
     Of their dead selves to higher things.

Synonyms

• means
• way

Related terms

• milestone

Translations

stone used to cross something

Bulgarian: основопола́гащ ка́мък m (osnovopolágašt kámǎk) Chinese: Mandarin: 墊腳石／垫脚石 (zh) (diànjiǎoshí) Danish: trædesten (da) c Esperanto: travadoŝtono Finnish: askelkivi French: see pas japonais (fr) and gué (fr) German: Trittstein (de) m Icelandic: stiklur f pl Indonesian: batu loncatan (id) Italian: sasseto m, selciaia f, acciottolato (it) m Japanese: 飛び石 (ja) (とびいし, tobiishi) Portuguese: poldra (pt) f, pondra (pt) f, alpondra (pt) Russian: ка́мень, поло́женный для перехо́да m (kámenʹ, polóžennyj dlja perexóda) (no exact term exists), ка́мень-присту́пка m (kámenʹ-pristúpka) Scottish Gaelic: clacharan m Tagalog: batong tuntungan

something used as a way to progress

Chinese: Mandarin: 墊腳石／垫脚石 (zh) (diànjiǎoshí) Danish: springbræt n, trædesten (da) c Esperanto: travadoŝtono Finnish: ponnahduslauta (fi), astinlauta (fi) French: marchepied (fr) m, tremplin (fr) m, palier (fr) m German: Sprungbrett (de) n Hebrew: מַקְפֵּצָה (he) f (maqpetzá) Hungarian: ugródeszka (hu) Icelandic: stökkpallur m Indonesian: batu loncatan (id) Italian: viatico (it) m, trampolino di lancio m, trampolino (it) m Portuguese: trampolim (pt) m Russian: ступе́нька (ru) f (stupénʹka), трампли́н (ru) m (tramplín), ста́ртовая площа́дка f (stártovaja ploščádka), плацда́рм (ru) m (placdárm) Spanish: trampolín (es) m Tagalog: batong tuntungan

See also

• building block
• stumbling block