HAMPER


Meaning of HAMPER in English

/ ˈhæmpə(r); NAmE / verb , noun

■ verb

[ vn ] [ often passive ] to prevent sb from easily doing or achieving sth

SYN hinder

■ noun

1.

a large basket with a lid, especially one used to carry food in :

a picnic hamper

2.

( especially BrE ) a box or package containing food, sent as a gift :

a Christmas hamper

3.

( NAmE ) a large basket that you keep your dirty clothes in until they are washed

••

WORD ORIGIN

noun Middle English (denoting any large case or casket): from Anglo-Norman French hanaper case for a goblet, from Old French hanap goblet, of Germanic origin.

verb late Middle English (in the sense shackle, entangle, catch ): perhaps related to German hemmen restrain.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.