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rampant

ram·pant

UK/ˈɹæm.pənt/ US/ˈræmpʌnt/ uncommon informal

adjective

1.

unrestrained and violent

  • “rampant aggression”
Similar
2.

rearing on left hind leg with forelegs elevated and head usually in profile

  • “a lion rampant”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English rampand, rampend, present participle of rampen (“to rise by climbing, shoot up, sprout, sty, ascend”), from Old French ramper (“to creep, climb”) (see below), equivalent to ramp + -and or ramp + -ant. Recorded since 1382, "standing on the hind legs" (as in heraldry), later, "fierce, ravenous" (1387). Compare Scots rampand (“rampant”). Alternatively from Middle English *rampant, from Old French rampant, the present participle of ramper (“to creep, climb”), equivalent to ramp + -ant. Old French ramper derives from Frankish *rampōn, *hrampōn (“to hook, grapple, climb”), from *rampa, *hrampa (“hook, claw, talon”), from Proto-Germanic *hrempaną (“to curve, shrivel, shrink, wrinkle”).

Phrases

  • rampant gardant
  • rampant regardant
  • rampant sejant
  • run rampant
  • sejant rampant

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.