damp

Meanings

Adjective

• In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist.
• Despondent; dispirited, downcast.
• Permitting the possession of alcoholic beverages, but not their sale.

Noun

• Moisture; humidity; dampness.
• Fog; fogginess; vapor.
• Dejection or depression; something that spoils a positive emotion (such as enjoyment, satisfaction, expectation or courage) or a desired activity.
• A gaseous product, formed in coal mines, old wells, pits, etc.

Verb

• To dampen; to make moderately wet
• To put out, as fire; to weaken, restrain, or make dull.
• To suppress vibrations (mechanical) or oscillations (electrical) by converting energy to heat (or some other form of energy).

Origin

• From Middle English dampen. Akin to Low German damp, Dutch damp, and German Dampf ("vapor, steam, fog"), Icelandic dampi, Swedish damm ("dust"), and to German dampf imperative of dimpfen. Also Middle English dampen ("to extinguish, choke, suffocate"). Ultimately all descend from Proto-Germanic *dampaz.