vamp

Pronunciation

• IPA: /væmp/^[1]

Etymology

The shoe word is inherited from Middle English vampe (“part of a stocking covering the foot”),^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Anglo-Norman vampe,^[6][4][5] a shortening of Old French avantpié, from Old French avant (“before”) + pié (“foot”),^{[2][3][6][4][5]} the latter from Latin pēs (“foot”).^[2][6][4] The word for a seductive woman is a shortening of vampire.^{[2][3][6][4][5]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The part of hose or stockings that covers the foot and ankle (before 1225).^[7][3][6]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century the word came to mean the upper front part of a shoe or boot (1654).^[7][3][6] The verb, “to provide with a new vamp”, was extended to patching up or refurbishing anything (1632), especially old literary material,^[7][3][6] and to improvising a musical accompaniment (1789).^[7][6] The unrelated vamp “seductive woman who exploits men” appears in the early 20th century^[7][3][4] and was popularized by Theda Bara's role as “The Vampire” in the 1915 film A Fool There Was;^[6] it was used as a verb by 1918.^[7][6]

Timeline

• before 1225 – the foot of a stocking.^[7][3]
• 1599 – verb, to furnish with a vamp.^[7][3][4]
• 1632 – to patch up or refurbish.^[7][3]
• 1654 – the upper front part of a shoe.^[7][3][6]
• 1789 – to improvise a musical accompaniment.^[7][6]
• c. 1911 – a seductive woman who exploits men.^[7][3][4]
• 1918 – verb, to attract and exploit (a man).^[7][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The part of a shoe or boot upper that covers the instep and sometimes the toes.
2. Something patched up or pieced together from old material.
3. A short, simple, often improvised musical passage repeated as an accompaniment or introduction.
4. A woman who uses her charm to seduce and exploit men.

Verb

1. To provide (a shoe) with a new vamp.
2. To patch up or refurbish; also, to invent or fabricate, as in vamp up an excuse.
3. To improvise a simple accompaniment.
4. To seduce or exploit in the manner of a vamp; to act as a vamp.

Word family

• vamper
• vampish
• vampishly
• vampy
• revamp

Related words

• vampire
• avaunt
• vanguard
• pedal

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press