scamper
[ skam-per ]
/ ˈskæm pər /
verb (used without object)
to run or go hastily or quickly.
to run playfully about, as a child.
noun
a scampering; a quick run.
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Examples from the Web for scamper
British Dictionary definitions for scamper
scamper
/ (ˈskæmpə) /
verb (intr)
to run about playfully
(often foll by through) to hurry quickly through (a place, task, book, etc)
noun
the act of scampering
Derived Formsscamperer, noun
Word Origin for scamper
C17: probably from scamp (vb); see scamp 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for scamper
scamper
"to run quickly," 1680s, probably from Flemish schampeeren, frequentative of schampen "run away," from Old North French escamper (Old French eschamper) "to run away, flee, quit the battlefield, escape," from Vulgar Latin *excampare "decamp," literally "leave the field," from Latin ex campo, from ex "out of" (see ex-) + campo, ablative of campus "field" (see campus). A vogue word late 17c. Related: Scampered; scampering. The noun is 1680s, from the verb.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper