See Also: scamp(medicine)
scamp(1)(dictionary)
scamp(2)(dictionary)
scamp(dictionary)

scamp(1) (iou)



scamp noun & verb1. [skamp] M18.
[Prob. from Middle Dutch schampen slip away, decamp from Old French esc(h)amper from Proto-Romance, from Latin ex EX-1 + campus field.]
A. noun.
A highway robber. M18-M19.
A good-for-nothing, a worthless person; a rogue, a rascal. Now also, a mischievous person, esp. a child. E19.
Dickens Those are the cleverest scamps I ever had any thing to do with! H. Mantel I was a raggedy scamp with a snivel nose and a hole in my breeks.
b. verb intrans.
Be a highwayman. Only in M18.
Go or wander about or off, esp. with mischievous intent. Scot. M19.
scamphood noun (rare) the quality of being a scamp M19.
scamping adjective (rare) that behaves like a scamp; good-for-nothing: M19.
scampish adjective having the character of a scamp; characteristic of a scamp: M19.