The top part of a boot or shoe, above the sole and welt and in front of the ankle seam, that covers the instep and toes; the front part of an upper; the analogous part of a stocking.
From Middle English vaumpe, vaum-pei, vampe, or from Anglo-Norman vampe, *vaumpé, from Old French avantpied, avantpiet, variants of avantpié, from avant + pié.
Noun senses 2 and 3 (“a patch; something patched up or improvised”) appear to have been extended from sense 1 (“top part of a boot or shoe”). Sense 4 (“repeated and often improvised musical accompaniment”) was probably derived from sense 3, and sense 5 (“activity to fill or stall for time”) from sense 4.
The verb senses were derived from the noun. Compare also Middle English vaum-peien ("(uncertain) to repair (footwear) with a new upper or vamp; to fabricate an upper or vamp").
. From a character type developed first for silent film, notably for Theda Bara's role in the 1915 film A Fool There Was.
The verb is derived from the noun.
Origin uncertain; possibly related to vamp (etymology 1, above): see the 2008 quotation.
Modern English dictionary
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