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vamp - 10 dictionary results

vamp

1  [vamp] ,
Use vamp in a Sentence
–noun
1. the portion of a shoe or boot upper that covers the instep and toes.
2. something patched up or pieced together.
3. Jazz. an accompaniment, usually improvised, consisting of a succession of simple chords.
–verb (used with object)
4. to furnish with a vamp, esp. to repair (a shoe or boot) with a new vamp.
5. to patch up; repair.
6. to give (something) a new appearance by adding a patch or piece.
7. to concoct or invent (often fol. by up): He vamped up a few ugly rumors to discredit his enemies.
8. Jazz. to improvise (an accompaniment or the like).
–verb (used without object)
9. Jazz. to improvise an accompaniment, tune, etc.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME vampe < AF; MF avant-pie, equiv. to avant- fore- (see avaunt ) + pie foot (F pied; see -ped )

Related forms:
vamper, noun
vampish, adjective

vamp

2  [vamp] ,
–noun
1. a seductive woman who uses her sensuality to exploit men.
–verb (used with object)
2. to use feminine charms upon; seduce.
–verb (used without object)
3. to act as a vamp.
Origin:
1905–10; short for vampire
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vamp
vamp 1   (vāmp)   
n.  
  1. The upper part of a boot or shoe covering the instep and sometimes extending over the toe.
    1. Something patched up or refurbished.
    2. Something rehashed, as a book based on old material.
  3. Music An improvised accompaniment.
v.   vamped, vamp·ing, vamps

v.   tr.
  1. To provide (a shoe) with a new vamp.
  2. To patch up (something old); refurbish.
  3. To put together; fabricate or improvise: With no hard news available about the summit meeting, the reporters vamped up questions based only on rumor.
  4. Music To improvise (an accompaniment, for example) for a solo.
v.   intr. Music
To improvise simple accompaniment or variation of a tune.

[Middle English vampe, sock, from Old French avanpie : avaunt, before; see vanguard + pie, foot (from Latin pēs; see ped- in Indo-European roots).]
vamp'er n.
vamp 2   (vāmp)   
n.  A woman who uses her sex appeal to entrap and exploit men.
v.   vamped, vamp·ing, vamps

v.   tr.
To seduce or exploit (someone) in the manner of a vamp.
v.   intr.
To play the part of a vamp.

[Short for vampire.]
vamp'ish adj., vamp'ish·ly adv., vamp'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Vamp

Vamp\, v. i. To advance; to travel. [Obs.]

Vamp

Vamp\, n. [OE. vampe, vaumpe, vauntpe, F. avantpied the forefoot, vamp; anat before, fore + pied foot, L. pes. See Advance, Van of an army, and Foot.]

1. The part of a boot or shoe above the sole and welt, and in front of the ankle seam; an upper.

2. Any piece added to an old thing to give it a new appearance. See Vamp, v. t.

Vamp

Vamp\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vamped (?; 215); p. pr. & vb. n. Vamping.] To provide, as a shoe, with new upper leather; hence, to piece, as any old thing, with a new part; to repair; to patch; -- often followed by up.

I had never much hopes of your vamped play. --Swift.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : vamp
Spanish: panza,
German: der Wanst,
Japanese: 太鼓腹
More Translations »

vamp  (v.)
"extemporize on a piano," 1789, originally a noun meaning "part of a stocking that covers the foot and ankle" (c.1225), from Anglo-Norm. *vaumpé, from O.Fr. avantpié, from avant "in front" + pié "foot." Sense evolved to "provide a stocking with a new vamp" (1599), to "patch up, repair" (cf. revamp) to "extemporize."

vamp  (n.)
"seductive woman," 1911, short for vampire. First attested use is earlier than the release of the Fox film "A Fool There Was" (January 1915), with sultry Theda Bara in the role of The Vampire. But the movie was based on a play of that name that had been a Broadway hit (title and concept from a Kipling poem, "The Vampire"), and the word may ultimately trace to Bara's role. At any rate, Bara (real name Theodosia Goodman) remains the classic vamp.
A fool there was and he made his prayer
(Even as you and I!)
To a rag and a bone and a hank of hair
(We called her the woman who did not care)
But the fool, he called her his lady fair
(Even as you and I.)

[Kipling, "The Vampire"]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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vamp
vampire
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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