scamp
/ˈskæmp/ noun, verb
Forms scamps scamping scamped
- noun A rascal, swindler, or rogue; a ne'er-do-well.
- noun A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster. “My nephew is a little scamp who likes to leave lighted firecrackers under the lawnchairs of his dozing elders.”
- verb (dated) To skimp; to do something in a skimpy or slipshod fashion.
- noun (advertising) A preliminary design sketch.
Synonyms
swindler rogue agitator bad boy bad news bear beggar bhoy blackguard booger boot boy bovver boy brat brawler breedbate buffoon bugger bully charva cutup imp monkey rascal rapscallion scalawag scallywag
Etymology
From Middle Dutch schampen (“slip away”), from Old French escamper (“to run away, to make one's escape”), from Vulgar Latin *excampāre. Compare escape.
Perhaps related to sense 1, but influenced by the later attested skimp; however, compare Icelandic skamta (“to dole out, to stint”), which is related to skammur (“short”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A rascal; a swindler; a rogue. De Quincey.
- verb To perform in a hasty, neglectful, or imperfect manner; to do superficially. [Colloq.]
Etymology [OF. escamper to run away, to make one's escape. originally, one who runs away, a fugitive, a vagabond. See Scamper.]
Etymology [Cf. Scamp,n., or Scant, a., and Skimp.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “scamp”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details