Have you ever asked yourself what the word STEEM really means?

Starting Point

If you open the FAQ in STEEM.IO and click "Why STEEM" you will see:

Steem is a form of esteem, which means to prize or value. Steem is also a homophone for steam, which is frequently associated with power, and a step further, steam powered trains gave influence to English idioms, such as ‘this conversation is picking up steam.’ The associations with prizing, language and empowerment only felt right.

Well, lets take a look what the word ESTEEM meant in the past...

Digging the Dictionaries

Etymological dictionaries say that verb ESTEEM goes from middle of XV century from Old French word “ESTIMER” and this word is from Latin “AESTIMARE” ("to value, determine the value of something"). The last Latin word if we take a look to the roots of pralanguage can be divided to “ais” and “-temos”. Some dictionaries says that “ais temos” mean "one who cuts copper" or "one who mints money".

My Alternative Version

Interesting that the root *ais- also means “to honour, to revere; respect”
And there is another variation of second root *tem- which means sacred place.

We can say that STEEM can be etymologically connected to HONOURABLE SACRED PLACE. And I’m sure devs intending Steemit to be so and I hope all steemians too.