Obs. exc. dial. Also 1–3 comp, 3 komp, 4 kamp. [OE. camp, cǫmp, corresp. to OFris. camp, cǫmp, (MDu. camp, Du. kamp), MLG. kamp, OHG. champf (MHG. and Ger. kampf), combat, all masc., ON. kapp (pp from mp) neuter, (Da. and Sw. kamp) contest, keenness, vehemence. WGer. or OTeut. *kampo-z was presumably an early Germanic adoption of L. camp-us in its transferred sense ‘field of contest or combat,’ also ‘duel, fight, battle, war’; see CAMP sb.2 The word was thoroughly at home in WGer., and gave origin to numerous derivatives, particularly the vb. kampjon; see KEMP v. and cf. KEMP sb.:—OE. cęmpa, WGer. kampjo-n = late L. campion-em CHAMPION. In ME. the word survived longest in the north, esp. as an archaism of alliterative verse.
(Kluge and others, however, claim the word as native Teutonic, mainly on the ground of the improbability that the Germans who had so many native words to designate war, should adopt a foreign designation; but they offer no satisfactory account of its etymology.)]
† 1. Martial contest, combat, fight, battle, war.
Beowulf, 5003. In campe ʓecrong cumbles hyrde.
c. 1000. Riddles, vii. 2 (Gr.). Mecʓ esette · Crist to compe.
c. 1205. Lay., 4215. Þer heo weren on kompen [1275 fihte]. Ibid., 4347. Þu eært muchele betere cniht to halden comp [1275 werre] and ifiht. Ibid., 14024. Þer wes feht swiðe strong comp swiðe sturne.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 3702. Alle þe kene mene of kampe, knyghtes and oþer.
2. Hence Camp-ball: An ancient form of football in which large numbers engaged on both sides. See CAMP v.1 3, and CAMPING vbl. sb.1
c. 1600. Day, Begg. Bedn. Gr., in Strutt, Sports & Past., II. iii. I am Tom Stroud of Hurling, I’ll play a gole at camp-ball.
1840. [see CAMPING vbl. sb.1] Fighting camps.
1847–78. Halliwell, Camp, an ancient athletic game of ball formerly in vogue in the Eastern Counties.
1887. Illust. Lond. News, 26 Feb. /1. The game in very ancient times was not so properly called football as camp-ball.
1887. Jessopp, Arcady, 236. Did you ever hear of camp-ball?… It used to be a very favourite game in my parish some fifty years ago, and it was, by all accounts, a very rough one—something like football.
