Forms: 4–7 crampe, (4–5 crompe, craumpe, 5 cramppe, croampe), 5– cramp. [ME. cra(u)mpe, a. OF. crampe (13th c. in Littré), a. OLG. *krampe: cf. MLG. and MDu. krampe, LG. krampe, Du. kramp f., beside OS. cramp, OHG. chrampf, G. krampf m., according to Kluge, a subst. use of cramp, OHG. chrampf adj. compressed, bent in: see note at end of this article.]
An involuntary, violent and painful contraction of the muscles, usually the result of a slight strain, a sudden chill, etc.
Usually spoken of as cramp, formerly and still colloq. the cramp; a cramp is a particular case or form of the seizure. The word is also used of affections accompanied by feelings akin to those of cramp, and assumed to be in part due to it, as cramp of the chest (= ANGINA PECTORIS), cramp of the heart, stomach, etc., and it is also applied to paralytic affections caused by over-exertion of particular muscles of the hand, as compositor’s, musician’s, scrivener’s, shoemaker’s, writer’s cramp.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, III. 1022. Wel he felte a-boute his herte crepe … The crampe [v.r. craumpe] of deth.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XIII. 335. I cacche þe crompe, þe cardiacle some tyme.
c. 1400. Lanfranc’s Cirurg., 99. Þe crampe is a syknes … in þe which syknes cordis & senewis weren drawen to her bigynnynge. Ibid., 105. Þre maner of crampis: þe toon is clepid amprostonos, þe toþer empistenos, þe iij. tetanus.
1563. T. Gale, Antidot., II. 21. Wyth this vnguent annoynt the member which hath the crampe.
1600. Shaks., A. Y. L., IV. i. 105. Leander … he went but forth to wash him in the Hellespont, and being taken with the crampe, was droun’d. Ibid. (1610), Temp., I. ii. 369. Ile racke thee with old Crampes.
1700. in Maidment, Sc. Pasquils (1868), 357. Who to your bed will cramps and stitches bring.
1788. Mad. D’Arblay, Diary, Feb. He recounted to me the particulars of his sudden seizure … from the cramp in his stomach.
1866. A. Flint, Princ. Med. (1880), 814. Painful contraction of muscles … not produced by any obvious cause, is known as cramp.
1887. Times, 27 Aug., 11/6. The deceased, while bathing with his father, was seized with cramp.
b. Applied to diseases of animals, esp. a disease of the wings to which hawks are liable.
c. 1430. Bk. Hawkyng, in Rel. Ant., I. 298. If he take colde ore he be full sommyd, for soth he schall gendre the crampe. Ibid., 302. For the cramp in hawkes wyng.
1486. Bk. St. Albans, B viij a. The Croampe commyth to an hawke with takyng of coolde in hir yowthe.
1618. Latham, 2nd Bk. Falconry (1633), 122. The Crocke & the Crampe are two very dangerous euils.
1736. Bailey, Houshold Dict., 218. Cramp a distemper in sheep.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist. (1776), V. 337. They should be kept very clean, as indeed should all singing birds … otherwise they will have the cramp, and perhaps the claw will drop off.
c. fig.
1646. J. Hall, Poems, 64. Nor anger pull With cramps the Soule.
1648. Jenkyn, Blind Guide, i. 9. There is scarce a word … in the writing whereof his fingers were not wofully troubled with the Cretian cramp [i.e., lying].
d. Comb. cramp-bark (U.S.), the bark of the American Cranberry Tree, having anti-spasmodic properties; also the plant itself; cramp-bone, the knee-cap or patella of a sheep, believed to be a charm against cramp: cramp-ray = CRAMP-FISH: cramp-spider, the Whirligig, a water-beetle; cramp-stone, a stone used as a charm against cramp; cramp-word (see CRAMP a. 1). Also CRAMP-FISH, -RING.
1844. Dickens, Mart. Chuz., xlvi. Carried in her pocket … along with two *cramp-bones. Ibid. (1849), David Copp., xvii. He could turn cramp-bones into chessmen.
1769. Pennant, Zool., III. 67. *Cramp-ray.
1772–84. Cook, Voy. (1790), I. 323. The torpedo, or cramp-ray, is a very curious fish.
1721. R. Bradley, Wks. Nat., 147. Water Beetles of several kinds, Boat-Flies, a Monoculus, and *Cramp Spider.
1629. Massinger, Picture, V. i. Ricardo. I have the cramp all over me. Hilario. … A *cramp-stone, as I take it, Were very useful.
1877. Holderness Gloss., Cramp-steean, a certain kind of pebble carried in the pocket as a preservative against cramp.
[Note. The family of words etymologically related to cramp is very large. The ablaut series krimp-, kramp, krump- is a secondary (intensive) form of krimb-, kramb, krumb- (varying phonetically as krimm-, kramm, krumm-) with the root-meaning ‘to press in, compress forcibly,’ as mentioned under CRAM v. There may have even been a simpler series krim-, kram, krum-, represented by ON. kremja ‘to pinch, squeeze.’ Cf. the parallel relation of CLAM, CLAMP, and of the stems cring-, crink-, mentioned under CRANK sb.1
The English members of the group are, 1. from stem krimb-, krimm-: 1. OE. str. verb crimman, cramm, crummen to press in. 2. CRAM v., sb.; CROMB, CROME, sb., v. 3. CRUM, CRUMB a., v.; CRUMMIE. II. from stem krimp-: 1 CRIMP v., a., sb., and their derivatives. 2 CRAMP a., sb.1, sb.2, v., and derivatives. 3 CRUMP a., sb., v.; CRUMPY, etc. III. from dimin. stem krimbil-: CRIMBLE v., CRAMBLE v., sb. IV. from dimin. stem krimpil-: CRIMPLE v., sb.; CRAMPLE v.; CRUMPLE sb., a., v., and their derivatives.
There is a strong analogy both of form and sense between this group and the parallel series of cring, crink, crank, cringle, crangle, crinkle, crankle, crunkle.]
