SCAMP
What does "SCAMP" mean?
A mischievous but usually likable rascal, especially a playful child.
Meanings
- A cheeky, mischievous person, often a child, regarded with affection. Come here, you little scamp, and wipe that grin off your face. informal
- To do work in a hasty, careless, or slipshod way. The builder scamped the job and the roof leaked by winter. informal
Did you know?
- Scamp once meant a highway robber or runaway vagabond - over two centuries the word mellowed from 'criminal on the run' into a fond name for a cheeky child.
Word origin
From an old sense 'highway robber, vagabond', probably from 'scamp' meaning 'to roam', related to Middle Dutch 'schampen', 'to slip away' - softening over time into an affectionate term for a rogue.
Remember it
SCAMP = SCAMPer; a scamp is exactly the kind who scampers off before you can scold them.
A little poem
He pinched the last warm bun and bolted free-
a thief once hanged, now grinning on my knee.
couplet
Wordplay
- I called the kid a scamp affectionately - then learned the word once meant 'highway robber', which explained the missing cookies.
What it teaches
We forgive in a child the very mischief we once jailed in a man; affection is what the years do to a verdict.
Quick facts
What does SCAMP mean?
A mischievous but usually likable rascal, especially a playful child.
Is SCAMP a valid word?
Yes — SCAMP is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SCAMP?
SCAMP has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SCAMP come from?
From an old sense 'highway robber, vagabond', probably from 'scamp' meaning 'to roam', related to Middle Dutch 'schampen', 'to slip away' - softening over time into an affectionate term for a rogue.
What can SCAMP teach us?
We forgive in a child the very mischief we once jailed in a man; affection is what the years do to a verdict.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.