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Webster 1913 Edition

Hamper

Ham′per

(hăm′pẽr)
,
Noun.
[Contr. fr.
hanaper
.]
A large basket, usually with a cover, used for the packing and carrying of articles;
as, a
hamper
of wine; a clothes
hamper
; an oyster
hamper
, which contains two bushels.

Ham′per

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Hampered
(-pẽrd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Hampering
.]
To put in a hamper.

Ham′per

,
Verb.
T.
[OE.
hamperen
,
hampren
, prob. of the same origin as E.
hamble
.]
To put a hamper or fetter on; to shackle; to insnare; to inveigle; to entangle; hence, to impede in motion or progress; to embarrass; to encumber.
“Hampered nerves.”
Blackmore.
A lion
hampered
in a net.
L’Estrange.
They
hamper
and entangle our souls.
Tillotson.

Ham′per

,
Noun.
[See
Hamper
to shackle.]
1.
A shackle; a fetter; anything which impedes.
W. Browne.
2.
(Naut.)
Articles ordinarily indispensable, but in the way at certain times.
Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Top hamper
(Naut.)
,
unnecessary spars and rigging kept aloft.

Webster 1828 Edition

Hamper

HAM'PER

,
Noun.
[contracted form hanaper, or from hand pannier.]
1.
A large basket for conveying things to market, &c.
2.
Fetters, or some instrument that shackles.
[This signification and that of the verb following indicate that this word is from hanaper, and that the latter is from the sense of interweaving twigs.]

HAM'PER

,
Verb.
T.
[See the Noun.] To shackle; to entangle; hence, to impede in motion or progress, or to render progress difficult.
A lion hampered in a net.
1.
To ensnare; to inveigle; to catch with allurements.
2.
To tangle; to render complicated.
3.
To perplex; to embarrass.
Hampered by the laws.

Definition 2024

hamper

hamper

English

A selection of wicker hampers.
An outline of a hamper.

Alternative forms

  • hampire

Noun

hamper ‎(plural hampers)

  1. A large basket, usually with a cover, used for the packing and carrying of articles or small animals; as,
    a hamper of wine‎
    a clothes hamper‎
    an oyster hamper, which contains two bushels‎
Translations

Verb

hamper ‎(third-person singular simple present hampers, present participle hampering, simple past and past participle hampered)

  1. (transitive) To put into a hamper.
    Competition pigeons are hampered for the truck trip to the point of release where the race back starts.‎
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English hamperen, hampren ‎(“to hamper, oppress”), probably of the same origin as English hamble ‎(“to limp”), Scots hamp ‎(“to halt in walking, stutter”), Dutch haperen ‎(“to falter, hesitate”), German hemmen ‎(“to stop, hinder, check”). More at hamble.

Verb

hamper ‎(third-person singular simple present hampers, present participle hampering, simple past and past participle hampered)

  1. (transitive) To put a hamper or fetter on; to shackle; to ensnare; to inveigle; hence, to impede in motion or progress; to embarrass; to encumber.
    • 1712, Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem:
      Engend'ring heats, these one by one unbind, Stretch their small tubes, and hamper'd nerves unwind.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Roger L'Estrange, (Please provide the title of the work):
      A lion hampered in a net.
    • (Can we date this quote?), John Tillotson, The Advantages of Religion:
      They hamper and entangle our souls.
Translations

Noun

hamper ‎(plural hampers)

  1. A shackle; a fetter; anything which impedes.
  2. (nautical) Articles ordinarily indispensable, but in the way at certain times.
Derived terms
  • Top hamper, (Nautical): unnecessary spars and rigging kept aloft.
Translations

Etymology

From Middle English hamper, contracted from hanaper, hanypere, from Anglo-Norman hanaper, Old French hanapier, hanepier ‎(“case for holding a large goblet or cup”), from hanap ‎(“goblet, drinking cup”), from Old Frankish *hnapp ‎(“cup, bowl, basin”), from Proto-Germanic *hnappaz ‎(“cup, bowl”). Cognate with Old High German hnapf ‎(“cup, bowl, basin”) (German Napf ‎(“bowl”)), Dutch nap ‎(“cup”), Old English hnæpp ‎(“bowl”). More at nap.

Pronunciation

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