Rampant
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈɹæm.pənt/
- Rhymes: -æmpənt
Alternative forms
- rampaunt obsolete
Origin
Recorded since 1382, "standing on the hind legs" (as in heraldry), later, "fierce, ravenous" (1387); from Old French rampant, the past present participle of ramper ("to creep, climb")
Full definition of rampant
Adjective
rampant
- (originally) Rearing on both hind legs with the forelegs extended.
- The Vienna riding school displays splendid rampant movement.
- (heraldry) Rearing on its hind leg(s), with a foreleg raised and in profile.
- Thomas Hardy, The Well-Belovedlittle pieces of moustache on his upper lip, like a pair of minnows rampant
- (architecture) Tilted, said of an arch with one side higher than the other, or a vault whose two abutments are located on an inclined plane.
- Unrestrained or unchecked, usually in a negative manner.
- Weeds are rampant in any neglected garden.
- 2012-03, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, The British Longitude Act Reconsidered, Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat.
- 2013, Phil McNulty, "Man City 4-1 Man Utd", BBC Sport, 22 September 2013:In contrast to the despair of his opposite number, it was a day of delight for new City boss Manuel Pellegrini as he watched the rampant Blues make a powerful statement about their Premier League ambitions.
- Rife, or occurring widely, frequently or menacingly.
- There was rampant corruption in the city.