ramper

Forms

ramper^[1] Anglo-Norman raumper and ranper.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Frankish *(h)rampon (“to climb”), derived from *(h)rampa (“hook, claw”).^{[3][4][5][6][7]} The noun belongs to a Germanic family Proto-Germanic *hramp- naming a hooked thing, seen in Old High German rimpfan (“to bend, wrinkle”) and Middle Dutch ramp (“cramp”).^[3][5] Wiktionary traces it to *hrimpaną (“to shrink up, shrivel”).^[1] Since French has ⟨r-⟩ and not ⟨fr-⟩ at the start, the word was taken over fairly late.^[5][4]

The same family gave Italian rampa (“claw”) and rampo (“hook”), and Catalan rampa (“cramp”) and Spanish rampa (“cramp”).^[3][4][8] Littré, rejecting Latin rēpō (“to creep”) because the old verb also meant “to climb”, already followed Diez in a Germanic origin.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) has choses rampantes “reptiles”; the verb itself first meant “to climb” (Roman de Thèbes, about 1150).^[3][4][10]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to climb”, still recorded in 1611, survives in heraldry, where a beast rearing on its hind legs is rampant (about 1200).^[4][3] Through “to cling with the whole body in order to climb” (13th century) the verb came to mean “to creep”, of reptiles and of people and animals moving with the body on the ground (mid-14th century in the TLFi, 1487 in Bloch and Wartburg).^[4][3][5] Plants that spread over the ground or a support are said to ramper from 1584, and plante rampante later stood against grimpante.^[3][4]

Figurative uses appeared from the 16th century: “to lack elevation”, of an author or style (1549 or 1608), “to live in an abject condition” (1580, Montaigne) and, from 1680, “to grovel before the powerful”.^[4][3] In airmen's slang of the First World War a rampant was a member of the ground crew (1918).^[3]

Timeline

• first half of the 12th century – Choses rampantes “reptiles” in the Oxford Psalter.^[3]
• c. 1150 – Ramper “to climb” in the Roman de Thèbes.^[3][10]
• c. 1200 – Heraldic sense, of a beast reared on its hind legs.^[3][4]
• 1487 – The modern sense “to creep”.^[5][11]
• 1580 – Montaigne: “to live in an abject condition”.^[3]
• 1584 – Of plants spreading over a support.^[3]
• 1669 – The derivative rampe appears, in La Fontaine.^[5]
• 1680 – Richelet: “to grovel”.^[3][4]
• 1918 – Rampant in airmen's slang.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To crawl by a movement of the body over the ground, as snakes, worms and snails do: une couleuvre rampait sous les feuilles.^[11][3]
2. To move slowly with the belly on the ground and the limbs bent: le soldat rampa jusqu'au fossé.^[11][3]
3. Of plants, to spread over the ground or creep up a support.^[11][9]
4. (figurative) To grovel, to abase oneself before the powerful: ramper devant son chef.^[11][4]
5. (literary) To lack elevation, of a style or an author.^[3][10]

Word family

• rampe
• rampement
• rampant

Related words

• grimper
• Frankish *hrampa
• English ramp

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 659a
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert