Camped

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have secured a location outdoors for relaxation or survival activities To have arranged a site in a natural environment for rest and recreation purposes To have formed a temporary abode in the wilderness for leisure or essential needs
2. Set up a temporary place to stay outdoors, often for recreation or rest
3. Occupied an outdoor site briefly with temporary structures or tents for leisure or shelter

Etymology: The verb "camped" is simply the past tense of "camp," and the trail behind the verb runs back to battle rather than to tents. Old English "campian" meant "to fight, war against," and it grew out of "camp," which meant a battlefield or contest. Only later did the sense of pitching a temporary shelter take hold. The noun's root is Latin "campus," an open field or level plain, a word that also gave English "champ" and, by a different route, "campus" itself. The verb's surprising inheritance is a cluster of cousins that all keep the fighting sense. German "kämpfen" means "to struggle," Dutch "kampen" is similar, and Old High German "champf" meant "battle, struggle." English camp life is therefore a later extension of an older idea of contest.

Synonyms: settled, encamped