Etymology

tramp

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Today it means: The act of walking with heavy steps. Full definition →

First used 1664Middle English trampen ← Middle Low German trampen ← Middle Dutch trampen
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tramp · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*trampan“to step”
  2. Middle Dutch · derived fromtrampen“to stamp”
  3. Middle Low German · derived fromtrampen“to stamp”
  4. Middle English · derived fromtrampen“to walk heavily”
  5. English todaytramp

From Middle English trampen (“to walk heavily”), from Middle Low German trampen (“to stamp”) (trampeln (“to walk with heavy steps”), see trample) or from Middle Dutch trampen (“to stamp”), from Proto-West Germanic *trampan (“to step”). Doublet of tremp. Cognate with Dutch trampen (“to stamp, kick, step”), dialectal German trampen (“to step, walk, tread”), whence commoner German trampeln (“to trample”). Probably related to trap.

tramp · noun2

Clipping of trampoline (ultimately related to the verb via German trampeln).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1664 A homeless person; a vagabond.
  • from 1922 A disreputable, promiscuous woman; a slut.
  • from 1880 Any ship which does not have a fixed schedule or published ports of call.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.