English word origin

Etymology of scamp

From Middle Dutch schampen (“slip away”), from Old French escamper (“to run away, to make one's escape”), from Vulgar Latin *excampāre. Compare escape.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A rascal, swindler, or rogue; a ne'er-do-well. · A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle Dutch schampen (“slip away”), from Old French escamper (“to run away, to make one's escape”), from Vulgar Latin *excampāre. Compare escape.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionschampendum
Derivation mentionescamperfro

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "schampen",
        "4": "",
        "5": "slip away"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch schampen (“slip away”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "escamper",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to run away, to make one's escape"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French escamper (“to run away, to make one's escape”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-vul",
        "3": "*excappare",
        "4": "*excampāre"
      },
      "expansion": "Vulgar Latin *excampāre"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "escape",
        "notext": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "escape"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "schampen",
      "schampen#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "escamper",
      "escamper#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*excampāre",
      "Reconstruction:Latin/excappare"
    ],
    [
      "escape",
      "escape#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A rascal, swindler, or rogue; a ne'er-do-well.",
        "A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster."
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To skimp; to do something in a skimpy or slipshod fashion.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Perhaps related to sense 1, but influenced by the later attested skimp; however, compare Icelandic skamta (“to dole out, to stint”), which is related to skammur (“short”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionskamtais

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "is",
        "3": "skamta",
        "gloss": "to dole out, to stint"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic skamta (“to dole out, to stint”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sense 1",
      "scamp#Etymology_1"
    ],
    [
      "skimp",
      "skimp#English"
    ],
    [
      "skamta",
      "skamta#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "skammur",
      "skammur#Icelandic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To skimp; to do something in a skimpy or slipshod fashion."
      ],
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        "dated"
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for scamp →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-c2NhbXA