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damp

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damp

  [damp] adjective, -er, -est, noun, verb
Use damp in a Sentence
–adjective
1. slightly wet; moist: damp weather; a damp towel.
2. unenthusiastic; dejected; depressed: The welcoming committee gave them a rather damp reception.
–noun
3. moisture; humidity; moist air: damp that goes through your warmest clothes.
4. a noxious or stifling vapor or gas, esp. in a mine.
5. depression of spirits; dejection.
6. a restraining or discouraging force or factor.
–verb (used with object)
7. to make damp; moisten.
8. to check or retard the energy, action, etc., of; deaden; dampen: A series of failures damped her enthusiasm.
9. to stifle or suffocate; extinguish: to damp a furnace.
10. Acoustics, Music. to check or retard the action of (a vibrating string); dull; deaden.
11. Physics. to cause a decrease in amplitude of (successive oscillations or waves).
—Verb phrase
12. damp off, to undergo damping-off.
Origin:
1300–50; ME (in sense of def. 4); cf. MD damp, MHG dampf vapor, smoke

Related forms:
dampish, adjective
damp⋅ish⋅ly, adverb
damp⋅ish⋅ness, noun
damply, adverb
dampness, noun

Synonyms:
1. dank, steamy. Damp, humid, moist mean slightly wet. Damp usually implies slight and extraneous wetness, generally undesirable or unpleasant unless the result of intention: a damp cellar; to put a damp cloth on a patient's forehead. Humid is applied to unpleasant dampness in the air: The air is oppressively humid today. Moist denotes something that is slightly wet, naturally or properly: moist ground; moist leather. 3. dankness, dampness, fog, vapor. 7. humidify. 8. slow, inhibit, restrain, moderate, abate.

Antonyms:
1. dry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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damp   (dāmp)   
adj.   damp·er, damp·est

  1. Slightly wet. See Synonyms at wet.

  2. Archaic Dejected.

n.  

  1. Moisture in the air; humidity.

  2. Foul or poisonous gas that sometimes pollutes the air in coal mines.

  3. Lowness of spirits; depression.

  4. A restraint or check; a discouragement.

tr.v.   damped, damp·ing, damps

  1. To make damp or moist; moisten.

  2. To extinguish (a fire, for example) by cutting off air.

  3. To restrain or check; discourage.

  4. Music To slow or stop the vibrations of (the strings of a keyboard instrument) with a damper.

  5. Physics To decrease the amplitude of (an oscillating system).

Phrasal Verb(s):
damp off Botany To be affected by damping off.

[Middle English, poison gas, perhaps from Middle Dutch, vapor.]
damp'ish adj., damp'ly adv., damp'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

damp 
attested from 1316, probably in O.E., but no record of it. If not, probably from M.L.G. damp; ult. from P.Gmc. *dampaz. Originally "a noxious vapor;" sense of "moisture" is first attested 1706. Damper of a piano is from 1783; of a chimney, 1788; either or both of which led to various fig. senses.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: damp
Pronunciation: 'damp
Function: noun
: a noxious or stifling gas or vapor; especially : one occurring in coal mines—usually used in plural; —see BLACK DAMP, FIREDAMP
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
dAMP
deoxyadenylic acid
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

damp

any of various harmful vapours produced during mining operations. The gases are frequently called damps (German Dampf, "vapour"). Firedamp is a gas that occurs naturally in coal seams. The gas is nearly always methane (CH4) and is highly inflammable and explosive when present in the air in a proportion of 5 to 14 percent. White damp, or carbon monoxide (CO), is a particularly toxic gas; as little as 0.1 percent can cause death within a few minutes. It is a product of the incomplete combustion of carbon and is formed in coal mines chiefly by the oxidation of coal, particularly in those mines where spontaneous combustion occurs. Black damp is an atmosphere in which a flame lamp will not burn, usually because of an excess of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen in the air. Stinkdamp is the name given by miners to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) because of its characteristic smell of rotten eggs. Afterdamp is the mixture of gases found in a mine after an explosion or fire

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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