DAMPLY

damply, moistly

(adverb) in a damp manner; “a scarf was tied round her head but the rebellious curl had escaped and hung damply over her left eye”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

damply (comparative more damply, superlative most damply)

In a damp manner.

Source: Wiktionary


DAMP

Damp, n. Etym: [Akin to LG., D., & Dan. damp vapor, steam, fog, G. dampf, Icel. dampi, Sw. damb dust, and to MNG. dimpfen to smoke, imp. dampf.]

1. Moisture; humidity; fog; fogginess; vapor. Night . . . with black air Accompanied, with damps and dreadful gloom. Milton.

2. Dejection; depression; cloud of the mind. Even now, while thus I stand blest in thy presence, A secret damp of grief comes o'er my soul. Addison. It must have thrown a damp over your autumn excursion. J. D. Forbes.

3. (Mining)

Definition: A gaseous prodact, formed in coal mines, old wells, pints, etc. Choke damp, a damp consisting principally of carboniCarbonic acid, under Carbonic.

– Damp sheet, a curtain in a mine gallery to direct air currents and prevent accumulation of gas.

– Fire damp, a damp consisting chiefly of light carbureted hydrogen; -- so called from its tendence to explode when mixed with atmospheric air and brought into contact with flame.

Damp, a. [Compar. Damper; superl. Dampest.]

1. Being in a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist; humid. O'erspread with a damp sweat and holy fear. Dryden.

2. Dejected; depressed; sunk. [R.] All these and more came flocking, but with looks Downcast and damp. Milton.

Damp, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Damped; p. pr. & vb. n. Damping.] Etym: [OE. dampen to choke, suffocate. See Damp, n.]

1. To render damp; to moisten; to make humid, or moderately wet; to dampen; as, to damp cloth.

2. To put out, as fire; to depress or deject; to deaden; to cloud; to check or restrain, as action or vigor; to make dull; to weaken; to discourage. "To damp your tender hopes." Akenside. Usury dulls and damps all industries, improvements, and new inventions, wherein money would be stirring if it were not for this slug. Bacon. How many a day has been damped and darkened by an angry word! Sir J. Lubbock. The failure of his enterprise damped the spirit of the soldiers. Macaulay.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

28 May 2025

AIR

(noun) a distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing; “an air of mystery”; “the house had a neglected air”; “an atmosphere of defeat pervaded the candidate’s headquarters”; “the place had an aura of romance”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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