n.
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English vampe part of a hose leg or shoe covering the forefoot, vamp, from Anglo-French, alteration of avanpié, from avant- fore- + pié foot, from Latin ped-, pes ― more at VANGUARD , FOOT
Date: 14th century
1 : the part of a shoe upper or boot upper covering especially the forepart of the foot and sometimes also extending forward over the toe or backward to the back seam of the upper
2 [ 1 vamp ] : a short introductory musical passage often repeated several times (as in vaudeville) before a solo or between verses