stamp

Pronunciation

• IPA: /stæmp/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English stampen, to pound, crush,^[2][3][4] probably an alteration under Scandinavian influence of earlier *stempen,^[2][3] inherited from Old English stempan (“to pound in a mortar”),^[3][2][4] from Proto-Germanic *stampōjanan,^[2][5] source also of Old Norse stappa, Dutch stampen and German stampfen (“to stamp the foot, pound”).^[3][2] It comes from a nasalized form of PIE Proto-Indo-European *stebh- (“to support, place firmly”) (compare Greek stémbein, to trample).^[3][4] Its senses were reinforced in Middle English by Old French estamper (“to stamp”), itself from Germanic.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To pound, beat, crush or mash: about 1200, in Vices and Virtues.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

To strike the foot down forcibly is from the mid-14th century (by 1340),^[3][7] and to tread heavily from the late 14th century.^[3] To strike an impression on something is from the 16th century,^[5] the late Middle English period in Word Origins.^[7] The noun, a stamping tool, is from the mid-15th century,^[3][5] and a forcible downward blow with the foot from 1590.^[8] An official mark certifying that duty had been paid is from the 1540s,^[3] and the name passed in 1837 to adhesive labels issued by governments for the same purpose;^[3] Britain issued postage stamps under the Postage Act of 1839, and the United States under the Post Office Act of 1847.^[3] Character or kind, as in of the same stamp, is a further sense.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – to pound.^[2]
• 1340 – to stamp the foot.^[7]
• mid-15th century – a stamping tool.^[3]
• 1540s – an official mark.^[3]
• 1590 – a blow with the foot.^[8]
• 1837 – an adhesive stamp.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To bring the foot down heavily, or walk with heavy steps.
2. (stamp on, stamp out) To put an end to or crush.
3. To mark or impress with a device, seal or design.
4. To crush or shape with a heavy tool or die.

Noun

1. A small adhesive label stuck to a letter or parcel to show that postage has been paid; a postage stamp.
2. A tool for making an impression, or the mark it makes.
3. An official mark, seal or design showing approval or payment.
4. The act of stamping with the foot.

Word family

• stampless
• stampable
• counterstamp
• misstamp
• prestamp
• rubber-stamp
• unstamped
• restamp

Related words

• date stamp
• postage stamp
• rubber stamp
• stamping ground
• stampede
• step
• staff
• stomp

Usage notes

The OED lists two rare unrelated nouns, a kind of dance music (14th century) and a pool (1338),^[8] and obsolete Scots stamp meant a trap or snare.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ 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)