kemp.
A coarse or bristly hair, whisker; (in the plural) knotty hairs that will not felt.
Meaning & usage
A coarse or bristly hair, whisker; (in the plural) knotty hairs that will not felt.
Rough hair, wool, or fur.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English kempe (“coarse hairs”), from Old English cenep (“moustache; bit (of a bridle, bristling with points)”), from Proto-West Germanic *kanip, from Proto-Germanic *kanipaz (“beard, moustache, whiskers”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus (“jaw”). Related to chin.
Shaggy; rough.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English kempe, campe (“shaggy, rough”).
To strive or contend in any way; strive for victory.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English kempen, from Old English *cempan (“to do battle, fight”), from Proto-West Germanic *kampijan (“to campaign, do battle”), ultimately from Latin campus.
A contest in work, etc.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English kempen, from Old English *cempan (“to do battle, fight”), from Proto-West Germanic *kampijan (“to campaign, do battle”), ultimately from Latin campus.
A champion; a knight.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-der. Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s Proto-Italic *kampos Latin campusbor. Proto-West Germanic *kamp Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-West Germanic *-jan Proto-West Germanic *kampijan Proto-Germanic *-jô Proto-West Germanic *-jō Proto-West Germanic *kampijō Old English cempa Middle English kempe English kemp From Middle English kempe, from Old English cempa (“warrior, fighter, champion”), from Proto-West Germanic *kampijō (“fighter”), ultimately from Latin campus. Doublet of champion. Cognate with literary German Kämpe (“champion, fighter”), German Kempf.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.