[a. F. campe-r, f. camp CAMP sb.2]
1. intr. To live or remain in a camp; to form or pitch one’s camp; to encamp.
1543. Foray Fr. Country, in Chron. Calais (Camd.), 211. The hole oste departed owle of Callyes … and campid the same night without the walles of the towne in the feldes.
1556. J. Heywood, Spider & F., lxvi. ad fin., At retret of trompet, they retyred a meyne, Where they before had campt.
1579. North, Plutarch, 194 (R.). Fabius camped allwayes in the strong and highe places of the mountaines.
1611. Bible, Ex. xix. 2. There Israel camped before the mount.
1808. J. Barlow, Columb., III. 533. To meet the expected war, Camps on the confines of an eastern plain.
1850. Blackie, Æschylus, I. 51. He Was camping far at Ilium.
2. To sojourn or remain in a tent, pitch one’s tent; also famil. to take up one’s quarters, lodge.
1611. Bible, Nahum iii. 17. The great grashoppers which campe in the hedges in the cold day.
1651. C. Cartwright, Cert. Relig., I. 125. Bring it to the place, where they camped.
1857. Kingsley, Two Y. Ago, I. 106. Don’t be a hospitable fellow, ask me to come up and camp with you.
1859. Thackeray, Virgin., vi. 48. The messenger from Virginia … camping at night in the snow by the forest fires.
1883. Gilmour, Mongols, xxvi. 307. A great, tall, blustering Mongol … advised me to camp beside him.
b. To camp out: to lodge in the open in a camp.
1837. H. Martineau, Soc. in Amer. (1839), I. 294. Others besides emigrants camp out in the woods.
1867. Smiles, Huguenots Eng., xi. (1880), 181. Geneva became so crowded with fugitives that they had to camp out at night in the public squares.
1884. T. E. Dawson, Handbk. Canada, 301. Canadians who camp-out upon these islands.
3. trans. To establish or place in camp; to lodge; † also to place, put (obs.).
1549. Compl. Scot., 83. The tua gryt battellis of onnumerabil men of veyr var campit neir to giddir.
1598. Barret, Theor. Warres, II. i. 20. In Garrisons it [Ensign] … is most often camped upon the wall.
1616. Shaks., Ant. & Cl., IV. viii. 33. Had our great Pallace the Capacity To campe this hoast.
Mod. The troops would be camped along the river side.
