Etymology Dictionary

HAMPER (1),  to impede, hinder, harass.  (E.)   M.E. hamperen, hampren; the pp. is hampered and hampred, Will. of Palerne, 441, 4694.   'For, I trow, he can hamper thee;' Rom. of the Rose, 6428.   A difficult word; the p is probably excrescent, giving an older form hameren, equivalent to M.E. hamelen, to mutilate, which itself took an excrescent b at a later time, so that hamper and hamble are, in fact, doublets.   'Hameling or hambling of dogs is all one with expeditating.   Manwood says, this is the ancient term that foresters used for that matter;' Blount's Law Lexicon.   'Expeditate, in forest laws, signifies to cut out the ball of great dogs' fore-feet, for preservation of the king's game;' id.   The orig. sense of to hamble or hamper is to mutilate, render lame; cf. Lowland Sc. hammle, to walk in an ungainly manner; hamp, to halt in walking, to stutter; hamrel, one who stumbles often in walking; hamper, one who cannot read fluently (Jamieson).—A.S. hamelian, to mutilate, maim; Grein, ii. 10. + Icel. hamla, to mutilate, maim. + G. hammeln.   β. According to Fick, iii. 65, the forms hamla, hamelian are from an older hamfla, formed from the base hamf in Goth. hamfs, maimed, Mark, ix. 43.   γ. This Goth. hamfs is cognate with Gk. κωφὁς, blunt, dumb, deaf (Curtius, i. 187), and with Gk. κάπων, a capon.—✔SKAP, to cut; see Capon.   Der. hamper, a fetter (rare).

HAMPER (2),  a kind of basket.  (Low Lat.,—F.,—G.)   'An hamper of golde;' Fabyan's Chron., an. 1431-2; ed. Ellis, p. 607.   A corruption of Hanaper, q.v.   'Clerk of the Hamper or hanaper (Clericus hanaperii) is an officer in chancery (Anno 2 Edw. iv. c. 1) otherwise called Warden of the Hamper in the same statute;' Blount's Law Lexicon.—Low Lat. hanaperium, a large vessel for keeping cups in.—O. Fr. hanap (Low Lat. hanapus), a drinking-cup.—O.H.G. knapf (M.H.G. napf), a drinking-cup. + A.S. hnæp, as a gloss to Lat. ciathus (cyathus); Wright's Vocab. i. 24, col. 2. + Du. nap, a cup, bowl, basin.   Root unknown.   Doublet, hanaper.