/stæmp/
OriginFrom Middle English stampen (“to pound, crush”), from assumed Old English *stampian, variant of Old English stempan (“to crush, pound, pound in mortar, stamp”), from Proto-West Germanic *stampōn, *stampijan, from Proto-Germanic *stampōną, *stampijaną (“to trample, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *stemb- (“to trample down”).
Cognate with Dutch stampen (“to stamp, pitch”), German stampfen (“to stamp”), Danish stampe (“to stamp”), Swedish stampa (“to stomp”), Occitan estampar, Polish stąpać (“to step, treat”). See also stomp, step. Marks indicating that postage had been paid were originally made by stamping the item to be mailed; when affixed pieces of paper were introduced for this purpose, the term “stamp” was transferred to cover this new form.
- An act of stamping the foot, paw or hoof.
“The horse gave two quick stamps and rose up on its hind legs.”
“Just then there was a sound of footsteps, and the Boy ran past near them, and with a stamp of feet and a flash of white tails the two strange rabbits disappeared.”
- An indentation, imprint, or mark made by stamping.
“My passport has quite a collection of stamps.”
- A device for imprinting designs.
“She loved to make designs with her collection of stamps.”
“Close to the register is a box of stamps adorned with logos of local business, including one for B cup cafe around the block.”
- A small piece of paper, with a design and a face value, used to prepay postage or other dues such as tax or licence fees.
“I need one first-class stamp to send this letter.”
“Now that commerce is done electronically, tax stamps are no longer issued here.”
- A small piece of paper bearing a design on one side and adhesive on the other, used to decorate letters or craft work.
“These stamps have a Christmas theme.”
- figuratively, slangA tattoo.
- slangA single dose of lysergic acid diethylamide.
- A kind of heavy pestle, raised by water or steam power, for crushing ores.
- Cast; form; character; distinguishing mark or sign; evidence.
“the stamp of criminality”
“It is trial and examination must give it price, and not any antique fashion; and though it be not yet current by the public stamp, yet it may, for all that, be as old as nature, and is certainly not t”
“At a short distance from her were a pair of bathers of a very different stamp, if their operations deserved the name of bathing at all, viz., two girls on the confines of womanhood, presenting strong ”
- intransitiveTo step quickly and heavily, once or repeatedly.
“The toddler screamed and stamped, but still got no candy.”
- transitiveTo move (the foot or feet) quickly and heavily, once or repeatedly.
“The crowd cheered and stamped their feet in appreciation.”
“The native peoples with vocal cords located in the respiratory organs initiate simple communication with slimes by stamping their feet.”
- transitiveTo strike, beat, or press forcibly with the bottom of the foot, or by thrusting the foot downward.
“Vnder my feet I stampe thy Cardinalls Hat:”
“He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground.”
- transitiveTo mark by pressing quickly and heavily.
“This machine stamps the metal cover with a design.”
“This machine stamps the design into the metal cover.”
- transitiveTo give an official marking to, generally by impressing or imprinting a design or symbol.
“The immigration officer stamped my passport.”
- transitiveTo apply postage stamps to.
“I forgot to stamp this letter.”
- figuratively, transitiveTo mark; to impress.
“, Book IV, Chapter X
God […] has stamped no original characters on our minds wherein we may read his being.”
“England's superior conditioning began to show in the final quarter and as the game began to break up, their three-quarters began to stamp their authority on the game. And when Foden went on a mazy run”
Formsstamps(plural) · stamps(present, singular, third-person) · stamping(participle, present) · stamped(participle, past) · stamped(past) · stamp(infinitive) · stamp(first-person, present, singular) · stamped(first-person, past, singular) · stamp(present, second-person, singular) · stampest(archaic, present, second-person, singular) · stamped(past, second-person, singular) · stampedst(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · stampeth(archaic, present, singular, third-person) · stamped(past, singular, third-person) · stamp(plural, present) · stamped(past, plural) · stamp(present, subjunctive) · stamped(past, subjunctive) · stamp(imperative, present) · -(imperative, past)