Added 30 September 2026
camp
/ˈkæmp/ noun
In Latin: castra Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about camp at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other simple structures.
There's a big camp in the woods northwest of here. It's popular with hikers and bushcrafters.
-
An organised event, often taking place in tents or temporary accommodation.
I met my best friend last summer at camp. She lives in Albany and plays the clarinet.
-
A base of a military group, not necessarily temporary.
Signs of enemy recon were found near their camp last week.
verb
noun
- An affected, exaggerated, or intentionally tasteless style.
adjective
- Theatrical; making exaggerated gestures.
- Ostentatiously flamboyant or effeminate.
- Intentionally tasteless or vulgar; self-parodying.
Origin
From Middle English kampe (“battlefield, open space”), from Old English camp (“battle, contest, battlefield, open space”), from Proto-West Germanic *kamp (“open field where military exercises are held, level plain”), from Latin campus (“open field, level plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp- (“to bend; crooked”). Reinforced circa 1520 by Middle French can, camp (“place where an army lodges temporarily”), from Old Northern French camp, from the same Latin (whence also French champ from Old French). Cognate with Old High German champf (“battle, struggle”) (German Kampf), Old Norse kapp (“battle”), Old High German hamf (“paralysed, maimed, mutilated”). Doublet of campus and champ.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)