stamp
/stæmp/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms stamps stamping stamped stampest stampedst stampeth
- noun An act of stamping the foot, paw or hoof. “The horse gave two quick stamps and rose up on its hind legs.”
- noun An indentation, imprint, or mark made by stamping. “My passport has quite a collection of stamps.”
- noun A device for imprinting designs. “She loved to make designs with her collection of stamps.”
- noun A small piece of paper, with a design and a face value, used to prepay postage or other dues such as tax or licence fees. “I need one first-class stamp to send this letter.”
- noun A small piece of paper bearing a design on one side and adhesive on the other, used to decorate letters or craft work. “These stamps have a Christmas theme.”
- noun (slang, figuratively) A tattoo.
- noun (slang) A single dose of lysergic acid diethylamide.
- noun A kind of heavy pestle, raised by water or steam power, for crushing ores.
- verb (intransitive) To step quickly and heavily, once or repeatedly. “The toddler screamed and stamped, but still got no candy.”
- verb (transitive) To move (the foot or feet) quickly and heavily, once or repeatedly. “The crowd cheered and stamped their feet in appreciation.”
- verb (transitive) To strike, beat, or press forcibly with the bottom of the foot, or by thrusting the foot downward.
- verb (transitive) To mark by pressing quickly and heavily. “This machine stamps the metal cover with a design.”
- verb (transitive) To give an official marking to, generally by impressing or imprinting a design or symbol. “The immigration officer stamped my passport.”
- verb (transitive) To apply postage stamps to. “I forgot to stamp this letter.”
- verb (transitive, figurative) To mark; to impress.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
postage stamp revenue stamp tax stamp stomp emboss dent impress imprint cast mold mould impression postage tender legal tender pestle seal stump pigeonhole stereotype boss
Etymology
From Middle English stampen (“to pound, crush”), from assumed Old English *stampian, variant of Old English stempan (“to crush, pound, pound in mortar, stamp”), from Proto-West Germanic *stampōn, *stampijan, from Proto-Germanic *stampōną, *stampijaną (“to trample, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *stemb- (“to trample down”).
Cognate with Dutch stampen (“to stamp, pitch”), German stampfen (“to stamp”), Danish stampe (“to stamp”), Swedish stampa (“to stomp”), Occitan estampar, Polish stąpać (“to step, treat”). See also stomp, step. Marks indicating that postage had been paid were originally made by stamping the item to be mailed; when affixed pieces of paper were introduced for this purpose, the term “stamp” was transferred to cover this new form.
* As an English surname, variant of Stamps, habitational surname of Norman origin from Estampes, earlier name of Étampes.
* As a German surname, from Middle Low German stampen (“to crush, pestle”), from Old Saxon *stampōn, from Proto-West Germanic *stampōn, from Proto-Germanic *stampōną.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To strike; to beat; to crush.
- verb To strike the foot forcibly downward.
- noun The act of stamping, as with the foot.
- noun The which stamps; any instrument for making impressions on other bodies, as a die. 'T is gold so pure It can not bear the stamp without alloy. Dryden.
Etymology [F. estampe, of german origin. See Stamp, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “stamp”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details