Steeply inclined or at a steep angle; nearly vertical or precipitous.
From Old English 'steap' meaning steep, with the prefix 'a-' intensifying the meaning. The 'a-' prefix was commonly used in Middle English to create adjectives describing states or conditions, similar to 'asleep' or 'aflame.'
This word is basically the older cousin of 'steep' that fell out of favor—you'll find it mostly in historical texts and poetry, yet it perfectly demonstrates how English used to double-down on emphasis using that little 'a-' prefix, which we now only use in a handful of common words like 'asleep' and 'afraid.'
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