étape

Étape is a French noun meaning stage, step, or leg of a journey. It is used to designate a point within a sequence, or a rest stop along a route. The plural form is étapes. In travel and logistics, faire étape refers to stopping at a place temporarily, often to rest or transfer to another form of transportation.

In sports and endurance events, especially cycling, étape denotes a stage of a race, typically a daily segment in multi-day events. For example, the Tour de France comprises multiple étapes. In everyday language, étape also describes a phase in a process or a sequence, such as the various étapes of a project or production plan.

The word has historical roots in Old French estape or étape, originally referring to a stopping place or lodging along a route. Over time, its use broadened to cover any intermediate phase in a sequence.

Étape is also used in tourism and gastronomy to describe a planned stop or themed experience, such as an étape gastronomique during a trip, or a stop marketed as a stepping stone in an itinerary. The term is common in French but is often found in bilingual contexts, especially in travel, sport, and business discussions.

In sum, étape conveys the idea of a defined unit within a larger journey, whether literal, such as travel, or metaphorical, such as steps in a plan.