stepper
(ˈstɛpə(r))
[f. step v. + -er1.]
1. A horse with good paces and showy action. Often with adj., good, sure, etc.; cf. high-stepper.
| 1835 Sir G. Stephen Search of Horse ii. 32 If he is ‘a beautiful stepper’, you will find that he has the action of a peacock. 1850 Smedley Frank Fairlegh xl. 330 ‘By Jove! what splendid steppers!’ was Lawless's exclamation, as I drove up. 1908 A. Kinross Joan of Garioch x. (1911) 44 A quiet closed brougham passed by drawn by two fiery Hungarian steppers. |
2. slang. † a. The treadmill. Obs. b. pl. The feet.
| 1846 Swell's Night Guide 59, I does the safe, if they cops me it's nix; six veeks, a fly at the stepper and turn up. 1851–61 Mayhew Lond. Labour III. 380 These thoughts used to come over me when I was ‘on the stepper’, that is, on the wheel. 1853 Househ. Words VIII. 75 The feet are steppers. 1874 Slang Dict. 309 Stepper, the treadmill. 1891 ‘F. W. Carew’ No. 747 xvi. 188 Toiling under our heavy burdens up that everlasting staircase—as Tony Klism said, it was ever so much worse than ‘the stepper’. |
3. colloq. = step-girl (step n.1 18).
| 1884 All Yr. Round 18 Oct. 29/2 Door-step cleaners—known among themselves and their own class as steppers. |
4. In full stepper motor. A stepping motor (see stepping ppl. a.).
| 1961 Control Engin. May 116/1 Applications employing interlocked steppers are ballistic missile prelaunching exercises, reconnaissance drone control, and precise positioning of radioactive fuel elements. Ibid. Nov. 103/1a, Stepper motor resembles the conventional ac servomotor except that its winding is excited by a stream of pulses from a multivibrator. 1976 Nasar & Boldea Linear Motion Electric Machines ix. 255 Some of the advantages of linear stepper motors are ease of control..and locking force. 1978 R. P. Hunger Automated Process Control Systems xiv. 328 The VR stepper requires its windings to be energized in the proper sequence for predictable operation. Also, it can be made to step bidirectionally. |
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Sense 4 in Dict. becomes 5. Add: 4. colloq. (orig. U.S.). A person who steps, esp. a dancer.
| 1934 Webster, Stepper,..a dancer, esp. a step dancer. 1954 L. Armstrong Satchmo viii. 127 Papa Gar..was the proudest stepper in the whole parade. 1981 Westindian World 25 Sept. 6/7 It's a great steppers tune with a good, hard rhythm all the way through it. |