Origin and history of steady

1520s, "firmly fixed in place or station" (displacing earlier steadfast, which came to be used of persons and characters), from stead + adjectival suffix -y (2), perhaps on model of Middle Dutch, Middle Low German stadig.

Old English had stæððig "grave, serious," and stedig "barren," but neither seems to be the direct source of the modern word. Old Norse cognate stoðugr "steady, stable" was closer in sense. As an adverb from c. 1600.

The meaning "working at an even rate" is recorded by 1540s, as is the sense of "free from irregular or uneven motion."

Originally of things; of persons or minds from c. 1600, "resolute, constant in purpose or pursuit." The colloquial sense of "regular in habits, not dissipated" is by 1832. The nautical use as a command ("steer steady") is attested by 1620s; hence probably the use as a cheer of encouragement and expressions such as steady as she goes.

Steady progress is etymologically a contradiction in terms. Steady state "unvarying condition" is attested by 1885; specifically as a cosmological theory (propounded by Bondi, Gold, and Hoyle), it is attested from 1948. Related: Steadily; steadiness.

1520s, transitive "hold or keep from rocking or shaking;" also intransitive, "gain or regain an upright, stable position," from steady (adj.). Related: Steadied; steadying.

1792, "a steady thing or place," from steady (adj.). From 1885 in the mechanical sense of "something that holds another object steady."

The meaning "one's boyfriend or girlfriend" is from 1897 in youth slang (to go steady is by 1905), from steady (adj.), in reference to a lover or suitor, "regular, constant," attested from 1887.