Meanings
- datednot comparableMade of hemp
In fowle reproch of knighthoodes fayre degree, / About his neck an hempen rope he weares, / That with his gliſtring armes does ill agree;
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 1253 more examples
A quiet land is this—a land where the slow-moving Basque, with his flat biretta-cap, his red sash and his hempen sandals, tills his scanty farm […]
1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “How the Army made the passage of Roncesvalles”, in The White Company […], London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 136Trains from Lime Street to Edge Hill were hauled by an endless hempen rope worked by a stationary engine on the platform at the latter station.
1942 May-June, “Cable Operation at Liverpool and London”, in Railway Magazine, page 174Apparently, Bridport is noted for "its hempen manufactures. Its staple productions are twine, fishing nets, and canvas, and much hemp for the purpose is grown."
2023 December 27, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: the way to Weymouth”, in RAIL, number 999, page 53 - not comparableRelated to hempen ropes, i.e., to hanging as capital punishment.
[…] but rid himself also of the companionship of this ruffianly Sir Crispin, to whom no doubt a hempen justice would be meted.
1904, Rafael Sabatini, The Tavern Night
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehaving or resembling fibers especially fibers used in making cordage such as those of jute
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*hanapīn“hempen, made of hemp”
- Old English*hænepen“made of hemp, hempen”
- Middle Englishhempen
- Englishhempen
From Middle English hempen, hempyn, from Old English *hænepen (“made of hemp, hempen”), from Proto-West Germanic *hanapīn (“hempen, made of hemp”), equivalent to hemp + -en. Cognate with West Frisian himpen (“hempen”), Dutch hennepen (“hempen”), German Low German hempen (“hempen”), German hanfen, hänfen (“hempen”). More at hemp.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian конопен
- конопен (konopen)made of hemp
Czech konopný
- konopnýmade of hemp
German hanfen
- hanfenmade of hemp
Latin cannabius
- cannabiusmade of hemp
Turkish kendir
- kendirmade of hemp
Cite this entry
hempen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hempen
“hempen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hempen. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hempen,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hempen.
Source: hempen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.