Etymology

damp

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Today it means: In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist. Full definition →

Middle English dampen ← Old English damp ← Proto-Germanic *dampaz
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damp · adjective, noun, verb1

  1. Middle English · derived fromdampen“to extinguish, choke, suffocate”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*dampaz
  3. Old English · inherited fromdamp
  4. Middle English · inherited fromdampen“to stifle; suffocate”
  5. English todaydamp

From Middle English dampen (“to stifle; suffocate”), from Old English damp, from Proto-Germanic *dampaz. Akin to Low German damp, Dutch damp, and German Dampf (“vapor, steam, fog”), Icelandic dampi, Swedish damm (“dust”), and to German dampf imperative of dimpfen (“to smoke”). Also Middle English dampen (“to extinguish, choke, suffocate”).

Damp · proper noun2

* As an English surname, from the adjective damp. * As a north/Low German and Danish surname, from places with the name Damp, such as Damp in Schleswig-Holstein, possibly from an old onomatopoeic verb meaning "to fall down," referring to falling watercourse of the Bökenau / Schwastrumer Au near the estate. Compare Danish dumpe and English dump.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.