camp

English Online Dictionary. What means camp‎? What does camp mean?

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kæmp/
  • (General American, Canada, /æ/ raising) IPA^(key): [kʰɛəmp] ~ [kʰeəmp]
• Rhymes: -æmp

Etymology 1

From Middle English kampe (“battlefield, open space”), from Old English camp (“battle, contest, battlefield, open space”), from Proto-West Germanic *kamp (“open field where military exercises are held, level plain”), from Latin campus (“open field, level plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp- (“to bend; crooked”). Reinforced circa 1520 by Middle French can, camp (“place where an army lodges temporarily”), from Old Northern French camp, from the same Latin (whence also French champ from Old French). Cognate with Old High German champf (“battle, struggle”) (German Kampf), Old Norse kapp (“battle”), Old High German hamf (“paralysed, maimed, mutilated”). Doublet of campus and champ.

The verb is from Middle English campen, from Old English campian, compian (“to fight, war against”), from Proto-West Germanic *kampōn (“to fight, do battle”), from *kamp (“field, battlefield, battle”), see above. Cognate with Dutch kampen, German kämpfen (“to struggle”), Danish kæmpe, Swedish kämpa.

Noun

camp (countable and uncountable, plural camps)

1. An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other temporary structures.
2. An organised event, often taking place in tents or temporary accommodation.
3. A base of a military group, not necessarily temporary.
4. A concentration camp; gulag.
5. A single hut or shelter.

6. The company or body of persons encamped.
7. A group of people with the same strong ideals or political leanings.
8. (obsolete) An army.
9. (uncommon) Campus
10. (informal) A summer camp.
11. (prison slang) A prison.
12. (agriculture) A mound of earth in which potatoes and other vegetables are stored for protection against frost

    Synonyms: burrow, pie

13. (obsolete) Conflict; battle.

Derived terms

Related terms

• campus
• champerty

Descendants

Translations

Verb

camp (third-person singular simple present camps, present participle camping, simple past and past participle camped)

1. To live in a tent or similar temporary accommodation.
2. To set up a camp.
3. (transitive) To afford rest or lodging for.
4. (intransitive, sports, video games) To stay in an advantageous location.

   Some players like to camp next to a power-up's spawning point.
5. (transitive, video games) To stay beside (something) to gain an advantage.

6. (transitive, video games) Short for corpse camp.
7. (intransitive, obsolete) To fight; contend in battle or in any kind of contest; to strive with others in doing anything; compete.
   • 1562, Leigh, The Accedens of Armory ː

     Aristotle affirmeth that Rauens will gather together on sides, and campe and fight for victorie.

8. (intransitive, obsolete) To wrangle; argue.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Unknown. Suggested origins include the 17th century French word camper (“to put oneself in a pose”), an assumed dialectal English word *camp or *kemp (“rough, uncouth”) and a derivation from camp (n.) Believed to be from Polari, otherwise obscure.

Noun

camp (uncountable)

1. An affected, exaggerated, or intentionally tasteless style.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

camp (comparative camper, superlative campest)

1. Theatrical; making exaggerated gestures.
2. (of a man) Ostentatiously effeminate.
3. Intentionally tasteless or vulgar, self-parodying.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

camp (third-person singular simple present camps, present participle camping, simple past and past participle camped)

1. To behave in a camp manner; camp it up.

Descendants

• → Finnish: camp
• → French: camp
• → Spanish: camp

Etymology 3

From Spanish campo (“countryside”).

Noun

camp (countable and uncountable, plural camps)

1. (slang, Falkland Islands) The areas of the Falkland Islands situated outside the capital and largest settlement, Stanley.
2. An electoral constituency of the legislative assembly of the Falkland Islands that composes of all territory more than 3.5 miles from the spire of the Christ Church Cathedral in Stanley.

See also

• aide-de-camp

References

Anagrams

• CAPM, CPAM

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin campus (compare Occitan camp, French champ, Spanish campo), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp- (“to bend, curve”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈkam]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈkamp]

Noun

camp m (plural camps)

1. field (open area of land)

   Synonym: terreny

2. camp (temporary outdoor accommodation)

   Synonym: campament

3. field of study, discipline

   Synonym: disciplina

4. (physics) field

Derived terms

Related terms

• campanya
• campestre
• campió

References

• “camp” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chinese

Etymology 1

From English camp.

Pronunciation

Noun

camp

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) camp (organised event); summer camp

See also

• ocamp

Etymology 2

From English camp.

Pronunciation

Adjective

camp

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) camp (effeminate)

Synonyms

References

• Bauer, Robert S. (2021) ABC Cantonese-English Comprehensive Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, →ISBN, page 538

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Borrowed from French camp.

Noun

camp m (plural camps) (ORB, broad)

1. camp

Derived terms

• campar

References

• camp in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• camp in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

Etymology 1

Probably from a Norman or Picard word equivalent to French champ (itself inherited from Old French champ and Latin), from Old Northern French camp, from Latin campus, or alternatively from Occitan camp, Old Occitan camp, possibly Italian campo. Doublet of campus and champ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɑ̃/
• Homophones: Caen, quand, quant

Noun

camp m (plural camps)

1. camp (An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other temporary structures.)

   Il a dressé son camp de l'autre côté de la rivière. ― He has erected his camp on the other side of the river.

2. camp (Semi-temporary accommodation)

   Un camp de concentration. ― A concentration camp.

3. camp (A base of a military group, not necessarily temporary)

   Les camps ennemis. ― The enemy camps.

4. camp (A group of people with the same ideals or political leanings, strongly supported.)

   Ce pays est partagé en deux camps. ― This country is divided into two camps.

5. camp, summer camp

   Un camp de vacances. ― A summer camp. (idiomatic; French usage does not specify a season)

Derived terms

Related terms

• camper
• campement
• camping
• champ

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English camp.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɑ̃p/, /kamp/

Adjective

camp (invariable)

1. camp (Intentionally tasteless or vulgar, self-parodying, affected, exaggerated)

Noun

camp m (uncountable)

1. campness; An affected, exaggerated or intentionally tasteless style

   La tactique des Sœurs dans la lutte contre le sida repose sur une stratégie politique : une utilisation du camp, une réappropriation revendiquée de l’efféminement, de la visibilité homosexuelle et de la follitude qui visent à désarmer les injonctions morales pesant sur la sexualité – sociales, religieuses, liées au sexe, au genre, aux pratiques sexuelles…

Synonyms

• follitude

Further reading

• “camp”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English campian.

Verb

camp

1. Alternative form of campen

Etymology 2

From Old Norse kampr.

Adjective

camp

1. Alternative form of kempe (“shaggy”)

Norman

Alternative forms

• champ

Etymology

From Old Northern French camp (compare Old French champ), from Latin campus, from Proto-Indo-European *kamp- (“to bend; crooked”). Compare French champ.

Noun

camp m (plural camps)

1. (Guernsey) field

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *kamp, from Latin campus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɑmp/

Noun

camp m

1. combat

Declension

Strong a-stem:

Derived terms

• campdōm
• campealdor
• campġefēra
• camphād
• camplīċ
• camprǣden
• campstede
• campung
• campwǣpen
• campwudu
• campwered

Noun

camp n

1. an enclosed piece of land

Descendants

• Middle English: kampe, komp, comp
  • English: camp (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: camp

Old French

Noun

camp oblique singular, m (oblique plural cans, nominative singular cans, nominative plural camp)

1. Alternative form of champ (“field”)

Welsh

Etymology

From Middle Welsh camp, from Proto-Brythonic *kamp, from Latin campus, from the senses of "field of action, scope, opportunity, or produce of a field". Doublet of Caint (“Kent”) and siampên (“champagne”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kamp/

Noun

camp f (plural campau)

1. feat, accomplishment

   Synonym: gorchest

2. sport, contest

Derived terms

• campfa (“gymnasium, stadium”)
• campus (“excellent, splendid”)
• campwaith (“masterpiece”)
• campwr (“champion”)

Mutation