trample

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tramplen,^[2][3][4] also trampelen,^[5][2] formed from English tramp + -le as a frequentative verb.^{[5][6][3][7][8]} The OED calls it a frequentative "in form" and compares Middle High German trampeln, trampeln and the Low German verb of the same shape;^[5][8] Klein takes the German verb as a frequentative formed from the Middle Low German base.^[4] The base verb is from Middle Low German trampen (“to stamp”),^[6][9][10] which Etymonline traces to Proto-Germanic *tremp- and Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to run, walk, step”).^[9] Etymonline allows that the frequentative may itself come from, or have been influenced by, Middle Dutch tramperen and the Low German verb,^[9] and the Middle English Dictionary thinks a Middle Dutch or Middle Low German origin probable.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To stamp or tread heavily: before 1382, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible, where the worthless man of Proverbs 6:13 "trampleþ with þe foot".^[2][5][6] Etymonline dates the verb to the late 14th century.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In its early use the verb apparently meant the same as tramp.^[5] The sense of treading on something so as to crush or destroy it is first recorded in Palsgrave's Lesclarcissement of 1530,^[5][6] although Etymonline dates the transitive sense to the middle of the 15th century.^[9] Metaphor soon followed: the transitive figurative use appears in 1583,^[5] and trample on, to treat with contempt or violate someone's rights, in 1646.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined the transitive verb as treading underfoot "with pride, contempt, or elevation" and quoted Matthew 7:6 for it.^[11] He took the verb from Danish.^[11] Two rarer uses died out in the 17th century: to tread or traverse a path (1595–1698) and to travel on foot (1624–31).^[5] The noun, formed from the verb, appears in 1604.^[5][6] In West Indian dancehall slang the verb has meant to have sex.^[12]

Timeline

• before 1382 – to tread heavily, to stamp.^[5][2][6]
• 1530 – to tread on and crush.^[5][6]
• 1574 – to put out by stamping, as in trample out a fire.^[5]
• 1577 – with on, upon or over, to tread on repeatedly with crushing steps.^[5]
• 1604 – noun, an act of trampling.^[5][6]
• 1646 – figuratively, with on, to treat with contempt or violate the rights of.^[5]
• 1995 – West Indian slang, to have sex.^[12]

Meanings

Verb

1. To step heavily on something so as to crush, damage or destroy it: Stray cattle trampled the young wheat.^[10][13][5]
2. With on, upon or over, to treat with contempt or harshness, or to violate another's rights or feelings: The new owners trampled on the tenants' rights.^[10][13][5]
3. To walk with a heavy tread; to tramp: He trampled up the stairs in his muddy boots.^[3][8][5]
4. With out, to put out a fire by stamping.^[5]

Noun

1. The act or sound of trampling; a heavy, repeated tread.^[3][13][5]

Word family

• trampler
• untrampled

Related words

• tramp
• tread

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins