'Etape \['E]`tape"\, n. [F. Cf. Staple a mart.]

1. A public storehouse.

2. Supplies issued to troops on the march; hence (Mil.), the place where troops on the march halt over night; also, by extension, the distance marched during a day.

3. In Russia, a prison or stockade for the confinement of prisoners in transit.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)