n. [ OE. crampe, craumpe; akin to D. & Sw. kramp, Dan. krampe, G. krampf (whence F. crampe), Icel. krappr strait, narrow, and to E. crimp, crumple; cf. cram. See Grape. ] 1. That which confines or contracts; a restraint; a shackle; a hindrance. [ 1913 Webster ]

A narrow fortune is a cramp to a great mind. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crippling his pleasures with the cramp of fear. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Masonry) A device, usually of iron bent at the ends, used to hold together blocks of stone, timbers, etc.; a cramp iron. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Carp.) A rectangular frame, with a tightening screw, used for compressing the joints of framework, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A piece of wood having a curve corresponding to that of the upper part of the instep, on which the upper leather of a boot is stretched to give it the requisite shape. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Med.) A spasmodic and painful involuntary contraction of a muscle or muscles, as of the leg. [ 1913 Webster ]

The cramp, divers nights, gripeth him in his legs. Sir T. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Med.) A paralysis of certain muscles due to excessive use; as, writer's cramp; milker's cramp, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Cramp bone, the patella of a sheep; -- formerly used as a charm for the cramp. Halliwell. “He could turn cramp bones into chess men.” Dickens. --
Cramp ring, a ring formerly supposed to have virtue in averting or curing cramp, as having been consecrated by one of the kings of England on Good Friday. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Cramped (krămt; 215); p. pr. & vb. n. Cramping. ] 1. To compress; to restrain from free action; to confine and contract; to hinder. [ 1913 Webster ]

The mind my be as much cramped by too much knowledge as by ignorance. Layard. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fasten or hold with, or as with, a cramp. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence, to bind together; to unite. [ 1913 Webster ]

The . . . fabric of universal justic is well cramped and bolted together in all its parts. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To form on a cramp; as, to cramp boot legs. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To afflict with cramp. [ 1913 Webster ]

When the gout cramps my joints. Ford. [ 1913 Webster ]

To cramp the wheels of wagon, to turn the front wheels out of line with the hind wheels, so that one of them shall be against the body of the wagon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Cramp, n. ] Knotty; difficult. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Care being taken not to add any of the cramp reasons for this opinion. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a deciduous thicket-forming Old World shrub (Viburnum opulus) with clusters of white flowers and small bright red berries.
Syn. -- guelder rose, European cranberrybush, European cranberry bush, cranberry-tree, Viburnum opulus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. inconveniently small; restricting movement; -- of living quarters or workspace; as, cramped quarters; a cramped office.
Syn. -- constricted, inconvenient, uncomfortably small. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ See Cramp, n. ] 1. (Mil.) A cramp iron or cramp ring; a chape, as of a scabbard. [ Written also crampit and crampette. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One of the plates of iron, with attached spikes, forming a pair of crampoons; hence (Curling), an iron plate for a player to stand on when delivering the stones. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Zool.) The torpedo, or electric ray, the touch of which gives an electric shock. See Electric fish, and Torpedo. [ 1913 Webster ]

See Cramp, n., 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mil.) See Crampet. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. See Crampoons. ] 1. (Bot.) An aërial rootlet for support in climbing, as of ivy. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. a device with pointed metal projections worn over the shoes to provide traction when walking over ice, or in mountaineering; -- usually used in the plural. [ PJC ]

3. same as crampoon. [ PJC ]

a. [ F. cramponné. See Crampoons. ] (Her.) Having a cramp or square piece at the end; -- said of a cross so furnished. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ F. crampon, fr. OHG. chramph crooked; akin to G. krampf cramp. See Cramp, n., and cf. Crampon. ] 1. A clutch formed of hooked pieces of iron, like double calipers, for raising stones, lumber, blocks of ice, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Iron instruments with sharp points, worn on the shoes to assist in gaining or keeping a foothold. [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Affected with cramp. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Productive of, or abounding in, cramps. “This crampy country.” Howitt. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , a. [ Also written frampul, frampled, framfold. ] [ Cf. W. fframfol passionate, ffrom angry, fretting; or perh. akin to E. frump. ] Peevish; cross; vexatious; quarrelsome. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Is Pompey grown so malapert, so frampel? Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Grampuses [ Probably corrupted from It. gran pesce great fish, or Sp. gran pez, or Pg. gran peixe, all fr. L. grandis piscis. See Grand, and Fish. the animal. ] 1. (Zool.) A toothed delphinoid cetacean, of the genus Grampus, esp. G. griseus of Europe and America, which is valued for its oil. It grows to be fifteen to twenty feet long; its color is gray with white streaks. Called also cowfish. The California grampus is G. Stearnsii. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A kind of tongs used in a bloomery. [ U.S. ]

prop. n. A natural family of fish including the halfbeaks, marine and freshwater fishes closely related to the flying fishes but not able to glide.
Syn. -- family Hemiramphidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Ramped p. pr. & vb. n. Ramping. ] [ F. ramper to creep, OF., to climb; of German origin; cf. G. raffen to snatch, LG. & D. rapen. See Rap to snatch, and cf. Romp. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To spring; to leap; to bound; to rear; to prance; to become rampant; hence, to frolic; to romp. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To move by leaps, or as by leaps; hence, to move swiftly or with violence. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their bridles they would champ,
And trampling the fine element would fiercely ramp. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To climb, as a plant; to creep up. [ 1913 Webster ]

With claspers and tendrils, they [ plants ] catch hold, . . . and so ramping upon trees, they mount up to a great height. Ray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A leap; a spring; a hostile advance. [ 1913 Webster ]

The bold Ascalonite
Fled from his lion ramp. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A highwayman; a robber. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A romping woman; a prostitute. [ Obs. ] Lyly. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. [ F. rampe. ] (Arch.) (a) Any sloping member, other than a purely constructional one, such as a continuous parapet to a staircase. (b) A short bend, slope, or curve, where a hand rail or cap changes its direction. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. [ F. rampe. ] (Fort.) An inclined plane serving as a communication between different interior levels. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. High-spirited; rampageous. [ Slang ] Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Ramp, v. ] Violent or riotous behavior; a state of excitement, passion, or debauchery; as, to be on the rampage. [ Prov. or Low ] Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To leap or prance about, as an animal; to be violent; to rage. [ Prov. or Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Characterized by violence and passion; unruly; rampant. [ Prov. or Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

In the primitive ages of a rampageous antiquity. Galt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. ramp a prostitute, or rabble. ] A mean wretch. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being rampant; excessive action or development; exuberance; extravagance. “They are come to this height and rampancy of vice.” South. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F., p. pr. of ramper to creep. See Ramp, v. ] 1. Ramping; leaping; springing; rearing upon the hind legs; hence, raging; furious. [ 1913 Webster ]

The fierce lion in his kind
Which goeth rampant after his prey. Gower. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ The ] lion . . . rampant shakes his brinded mane. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Ascending; climbing; rank in growth; exuberant. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rampant stalk is of unusual altitude. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Her.) Rising with fore paws in the air as if attacking; -- said of a beast of prey, especially a lion. The right fore leg and right hind leg should be raised higher than the left. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rampant arch. (a) An arch which has one abutment higher than the other. (b) Same as Rampant vault, below. --
Rampant gardant (Her.), rampant, but with the face turned to the front. --
Rampant regardant, rampant, but looking backward. --
Rampant vault (Arch.), a continuous wagon vault, or cradle vault, whose two abutments are located on an inclined plane, such as the vault supporting a stairway, or forming the ceiling of a stairway. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a rampant manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. rempart, OF. rempar, fr. remparer to fortify, se remparer to fence or intrench one's self; pref. re- re- + pref. en- (L. in) + parer to defend, parry, prepare, L. parare to prepare. See Pare. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. That which fortifies and defends from assault; that which secures safety; a defense or bulwark. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Fort.) A broad embankment of earth round a place, upon which the parapet is raised. It forms the substratum of every permanent fortification. Mahan. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Bulwark; fence; security; guard. -- Rampart, Bulwark. These words were formerly interchanged; but in modern usage a distinction has sprung up between them. The rampart of a fortified place is the enceinte or entire main embankment or wall which surrounds it. The term bulwark is now applied to peculiarly strong outworks which project for the defense of the rampart, or main work. A single bastion is a bulwark. In using these words figuratively, rampart is properly applied to that which protects by walling out; bulwark to that which stands in the forefront of danger, to meet and repel it. Hence, we speak of a distinguished individual as the bulwark, not the rampart, of the state. This distinction, however, is often disregarded. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ramparted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ramparting. ] To surround or protect with, or as with, a rampart or ramparts. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those grassy hills, those glittering dells,
Proudly ramparted with rocks. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rampart gun (Fort.), a cannon or large gun for use on a rampart and not as a fieldpiece. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ In allusion to its supposed aphrodisiac qualities. See Ramp. ] (Bot.) The cuckoopint. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Rampart. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. raiponce, Sp. ruiponce, reponche, L. raperonzo, NL. rapuntium, fr. L. rapum, rapa, a turnip, rape. Cf. Rape a plant. ] (Bot.) A plant (Campanula Rapunculus) of the Bellflower family, with a tuberous esculent root; -- also called ramps. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The name is sometimes given to plants of the genus Phyteuma, herbs of the Bellflower family, and to the American evening primrose (Œnothera biennis), which has run wild in some parts of Europe. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To fortify with a rampire; to form into a rampire. [ Archaic ] Chapman. “Rampired walls of gold.” R. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A rampart. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The Trojans round the place a rampire cast. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A rambler. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Roving; rambling. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Tramped p. pr. & vb. n. Tramping. ] [ OE. trampen; akin to LG. trampen, G. trampeln, LG. & D. trappen, Dan. trampe, Sw. & Icel. trampa, Goth. anatrimpan to press upon; also to D. trap a step, G. treppe steps, stairs. Cf. Trap a kind of rock, Trape, Trip, v. i., Tread. ] 1. To tread upon forcibly and repeatedly; to trample. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To travel or wander through; as, to tramp the country. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cleanse, as clothes, by treading upon them in water. [ Scot. ] Jamieson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To travel; to wander; to stroll. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A foot journey or excursion; as, to go on a tramp; a long tramp. Blackie. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A foot traveler; a tramper; often used in a bad sense for a vagrant or wandering vagabond. Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The sound of the foot, or of feet, on the earth, as in marching. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A tool for trimming hedges. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A plate of iron worn to protect the sole of the foot, or the shoe, when digging with a spade. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who tramps; a stroller; a vagrant or vagabond; a tramp. Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Trampled p. pr. & vb. n. Trampling ] [ OE. trampelen, freq. of trampen. See Tramp, v. t. ] 1. To tread under foot; to tread down; to prostrate by treading; as, to trample grass or flowers. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet. Matt. vii. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fig.: To treat with contempt and insult. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To tread with force and rapidity; to stamp. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To tread in contempt; -- with on or upon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Diogenes trampled on Plato's pride with greater of his own. Gov. of Tongue. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of treading under foot; also, the sound produced by trampling. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The huddling trample of a drove of sheep. Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who tramples; one who treads down; as, a trampler on nature's law. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ See Tramp, Trample, and Traipse. ] To walk with labor, or heavily; to tramp. [ Law, U. S. ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]