means A single movement made by lifting one foot and setting it down in a new place, or by extension one stage in a process or sequence.

from From Old English 'stæpe' or 'steppe,' meaning a footstep or pace, tied to the verb 'steppan,' to tread. It has Germanic cousins, like Dutch 'stap' and German 'Stapfe,' all rooted in the simple act of pressing a foot to the ground — the word has been carrying us forward, one pace at a time, for well over a thousand years.