vamp

vamp · noun, verb¹

1. Old French · derived fromavantpied
2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromvampe
3. Middle English · inherited fromvaumpe
4. English todayvamp

From Middle English vaumpe, vaum-pei, vampe (“covering for the foot, perhaps a slipper or understocking; upper of a boot or shoe”), or from Anglo-Norman vampe, *vaumpé (“part of a stocking covering the top of the foot”), from Old French avantpied, avantpiet, variants of avantpié, from avant (“in front”) + pié (“foot”). Noun senses 2 and 3 (“a patch; something patched up or improvised”) appear to have been extended from sense 1 (“top part of a boot or shoe”). Sense 4 (“repeated and often improvised musical accompaniment”) was probably derived from sense 3, and sense 5 (“activity to fill or stall for time”) from sense 4. The verb senses were derived from the noun. Compare also Middle English vaum-peien (“(uncertain) to repair (footwear) with a new upper or vamp; to fabricate an upper or vamp”).

vamp · noun, verb²

Clipping of vampire. From a character type developed first for silent film, notably for Theda Bara's role in the 1915 film A Fool There Was. The verb is derived from the noun.

vamp · noun³

Uncertain; possibly related to vamp (etymology 1, above): see the 2008 quotation.

First known use, by meaning

• from 13th c. The part of hose or stockings which covers the foot and ankle; a sock or short stocking.
• from 17th c. The top part of a boot or shoe, above the sole and welt and in front of the ankle seam, that covers the instep and toes; the front part of an upper.
• from c. 1789 A repeated and often improvised accompaniment, usually consisting of one or two measures, often a single chord or simple chord progression, repeated as necessary, for example, to accommodate dialogue or to anticipate the entrance of a soloist.
• from c. 1915 A flirtatious, seductive woman, especially one who exploits men by using their sexual desire for her.