Etymologically
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ramp

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English ramp, a slope, and ramp, to rear up or rage, both come from French ramper (“to climb”), but entered English separately, centuries apart.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɹæmp/[4]

ramp1 slope

Etymology

The slope is borrowed from French rampe,[1][5][3] a back-formation from ramper (“to climb, slope”),[5][6] itself from Frankish *rampōn.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The difference in level between the supports of an arch: 1725;[1] a sloping way, 1778.[1][5]

Semantic evolution

In architecture it also names a sloping part of a parapet or handrail.[7] The road that leads on to or off a major highway is an American use of 1952,[5] and a movable stairway for boarding an aircraft is another later sense.[8]

Timeline

  • 1725 – a difference in level in an arch.[1]
  • 1778 – a sloping way.[1][5]
  • 1952 – a road on or off a highway (US).[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A sloping surface or path joining two different levels.
  2. A movable stairway for boarding or leaving an aircraft.
  3. (US) A road leading on to or off a highway.

ramp2 to rear up, rage

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English rampen (also raumpen), borrowed from Old French ramper (“to creep, climb, rear”),[3][1][9] of Germanic origin,[3][7] compare Middle Low German ramp (“cramp”) and Old High German rimpfan (“to wrinkle”).[1][7] Its present participle gave rampant.[2][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Standing on the hind legs, rearing, mostly as the participle rampand: before 1325, in Cursor Mundi;[1] the OED's first example of the verb, of a lion, is from about 1390.[9]

Semantic evolution

French ramper meant to creep or crawl, a sense rarely found in English (Gower, 1393).[9][10] From rearing like a beast in heraldry came raging or storming about in a threatening way, from about 1405 in Chaucer,[9] and bounding about wildly (1599).[9] Climbing or scrambling (1523) and of plants, climbing or growing luxuriantly (1578, 1607) are other senses, now mostly regional.[9] A ramp was also a bold, boisterous girl from the 15th century,[5][11] related to romp.[5][9]

Timeline

  • before 1325 – rampand, rearing.[1]
  • c. 1390 – of a lion, to rear up.[9]
  • c. 1405 – to rage or storm.[9]
  • mid 15th century – a boisterous woman (noun).[5]
  • 1856 – of a ship, to scud along.[9]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To rear up on the hind legs, as in heraldry; to be rampant.
  2. To rush or storm about in a threatening or excited way.

Usage notes

Ramps, a wild leek of North America, is a variant of rams, from Middle English ramse, from Old English hramsa, the source of ramsons.[3][7] In British slang a ramp is a swindle, especially one involving exorbitant prices.[8] In northern English dialect it was also a sprain.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  3. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)