Stopa

Stopa is a term found in Polish and several other Slavic languages with multiple meanings. In everyday use, the most common sense is anatomical: it denotes the foot, the lower extremity used for standing and walking, including the sole and toes. The word also appears in idiomatic expressions related to walking or measurement by the body.

Historically, stopa has also referred to a unit of length roughly equal to the length of a human foot. The exact value varied by region and period, and the stopa ceased to be used as an official measurement with the broader adoption of metric systems in the 19th and 20th centuries. In historical texts it is encountered alongside other traditional Polish measures.

In other contexts, stopa can mean a footprint or track left by a foot, animal, or vehicle, serving as a physical trace or piece of evidence in archaeology, forensics, or everyday description. It can also appear as a surname or as part of place names in Polish-speaking areas.

Etymology and cognates: Stopa is a native Slavic word for foot; related forms appear in several Slavic languages, though exact pronunciations and spellings differ by language.