camp
UK[kæmp]US[kæmp]
n
A place where people stay in tents or temporary shelters, often for a holiday or for a particular purpose.
n
An area of land with buildings used for a particular activity, especially by a group of people such as soldiers or children.
v
To stay in a tent or temporary shelter, especially on holiday.
Etymology
The word 'camp' has a direct military lineage. It entered Middle English from the Old French 'camp' or 'champ', meaning 'battlefield' or 'open country', which itself derived from the Latin 'campus', signifying a 'level field' or 'plain'. The Roman army's practice of pitching tents on such open ground, the campus, is the crucial link that transformed the word's meaning from a geographical feature to a temporary military settlement. Over centuries, this sense of an organized, temporary lodging expanded beyond the military to encompass recreational and other group activities, while retaining its core idea of a non-permanent dwelling place in an open area.
Analysis
The word 'camp' is a simplex word. It entered English as a whole unit from French, ultimately tracing back to Latin. Its core morpheme is 'camp-', which functioned as a noun root meaning 'field' or 'open land'.
Examples
We set up camp by the lake for the weekend.
The children spent the summer at a sports camp.
They decided to camp in the mountains instead of booking a hotel.