stepdaughter

/'step,də:tə/

Học thuật

Thân thiện

She helps her stepdaughter with her homework at the kitchen table.

Definition

Noun:
- A daughter of one's spouse from a previous relationship: A stepdaughter is a female child that one's husband or wife has from a marriage or relationship with a previous partner. She is not one's biological child but becomes part of one's family through marriage.

Usage

The term is used to describe a familial relationship formed by marriage, not by blood.
It is a specific kinship term. The relationship is established when a person marries someone who already has a daughter.
It is a neutral, factual term commonly used in legal, social, and everyday contexts.

Examples

Noun:
- He loves his stepdaughter as if she were his own child.
- My stepdaughter is coming to stay with us for the summer holidays.
- She has a good relationship with her father's new wife, her stepmother.

Advanced Usage

Legal and Social Context: The term is important in legal documents concerning inheritance, custody, and familial rights and responsibilities.
Blended Families: The concept of a stepdaughter is central to discussions about modern, blended family structures.

Variants and Related Words

Stepson (n): A son of one's spouse from a previous relationship.
- He gets along well with his stepson.
Stepchild (n): A child of one's spouse from a previous relationship (a general term for stepson or stepdaughter).
- They treat their stepchildren with great kindness.
Stepparent (n): The spouse of one's parent, not one's biological parent.
- Her stepparents have been very supportive.

Synonyms

No direct synonyms: There are no exact single-word synonyms that capture the specific marital relationship. Descriptive phrases like "daughter from a spouse's previous marriage" are used instead.

Related Phrases

"To gain a stepdaughter": To acquire a stepdaughter through marriage.
- When he married Anna, he gained a stepdaughter, Lily.
"Relationship with one's stepdaughter": Refers to the dynamic between the adult and the child.
- Building a positive relationship with her stepdaughter took time and patience.

Notes

The prefix "step-" in English kinship terms (e.g., stepdaughter, stepbrother) denotes a relationship resulting from the remarriage of a parent. It is unrelated to the word "step" meaning a movement made by lifting the foot.

She helps her stepdaughter with her homework at the kitchen table.

Noun