rampant

Etymology

From Middle English rampand, rampend, present participle of rampen (“to rise by climbing, shoot up, sprout, sty, ascend”), from Old French ramper (“to creep, climb”) (see below), equivalent to ramp + -and or ramp + -ant. Recorded since 1382, "standing on the hind legs" (as in heraldry), later, "fierce, ravenous" (1387). Compare Scots rampand (“rampant”). Alternatively from Middle English *rampant, from Old French rampant, the present participle of ramper (“to creep, climb”), equivalent to ramp + -ant. Old French ramper derives from Frankish *rampōn, *hrampōn (“to hook, grapple, climb”), from *rampa, *hrampa (“hook, claw, talon”), from Proto-Germanic *hrempaną (“to curve, shrivel, shrink, wrinkle”).

adj

1. (originally) Rearing on both hind legs with the forelegs extended.
   The Vienna riding school displays splendid rampant movement.
2. (heraldry) Rearing up, especially on its hind leg(s), with a foreleg raised and in profile.
   ‘I forget your coat of arms.’ ‘A human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.’ 1846, Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado
   little pieces of moustache on his upper lip, like a pair of minnows rampant 1892, Thomas Hardy, The Well-Beloved
3. (architecture) Tilted, said of an arch with one side higher than the other, or a vault whose two abutments are located on an inclined plane.
4. Unrestrained or unchecked, usually in a negative manner.
   Weeds are rampant in any neglected garden.
   Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat. 2012-03, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87
   In contrast to the despair of his opposite number, it was a day of delight for new City boss Manuel Pellegrini as he watched the rampant Blues make a powerful statement about their Premier League ambitions. 22 September 2013, Phil McNulty, “Man City 4-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport
5. Rife, or occurring widely, frequently or menacingly.
   There was rampant corruption in the city.

adv

1. (informal, nonstandard) Rampantly.
   Things seem to be running rampant around here lately.