The sound or mark made by a foot when walking; also used figuratively to mean someone's path or direction in life.
Compound of 'foot' and 'step,' literally describing what happens when a foot takes a step. Used metaphorically since at least the 1600s.
The phrase 'follow in someone's footsteps' is such powerful language because footsteps are physical evidence of a path someone walked, so following them means literally and figuratively going where someone else has gone.
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