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Origin and history of stampede

stampede(n.)

1836 (also in early use stampedo, 1839; stampiado, 1828), "A general scamper of animals on the Western prairies, generally caused by a fright" [Bartlett], especially among cattle or horses, from Mexican Spanish estampida, a particular use of Spanish estampida "an uproar, crash, loud report," from estamper "to stamp, press, pound," from Provençal estampier "to stamp," from the same Germanic root that yielded English stamp (v.).

In figurative reference to a sudden rush or flight of humans, by 1836 in U.S. politics.

Boldly and bravely have we fought for you—and great has been our botheration and trouble—and after all you took a stampede, and rushed away from us, leaving us to fight alone. ["Arkansas Advocate," Little Rock, Aug. 12, 1836]

stampede(v.)

1823, "become generally panic stricken and take flight" (intransitive); 1838 in transitive sense of "put to flight, cause to take flight in a panic," from stampede (n.). Related: Stampeded; stampeding.

also from 1823

Entries linking to stampede

stamp(v.)

Middle English stampen "pound, mash, beat, crush," from Old English stempan "to pound, crush, or bruise in or as in a mortar," from Proto-Germanic *stamp- (source also of Old Norse stappa, Danish stampe, Middle Dutch stampen, Old High German stampfon, German stampfen "to stamp with the foot, beat, pound," German Stampfe "pestle"), from nasalized form of PIE root *stebh- "to support, place firmly on" (source also of Greek stembein "to trample, misuse;" see staff (n.)). The vowel altered in Middle English, perhaps by influence of Scandinavian forms.

The intransitive sense of "strike the foot forcibly downwards" is from mid-14c. That of "tread heavily" is from late 14c. Transitive sense of "strike or beat with a forcible downward thrust of the foot" is from late 15c. Related: Stamping.

The meaning "impress or mark (a design on something) with a die" is attested by mid-15c. (implied in stamped). Italian stampa "stamp, impression," Spanish estampar "to stamp, print," French étamper (13c., Old French estamper) "to stamp, impress" are Germanic loan-words. The meaning "affix a postage stamp to" is by 1837.

To stamp out originally was "extinguish a fire by stamping on it;" attested from 1851 in the figurative sense. Stamping ground "one's particular territory" (1821) is from the notion of animals. A stamped addressed envelope (1873) was one you enclosed in a letter to speed or elicit a reply.

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    Trends of stampede

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    race
    [act of running] late Old English, also rase, "a narrative, an account;" c. 1300, "an act of swift running, a hurried attack," also "a course of life or conduct, a swift current;" from Old Norse rās "a running, a rush (of water)," cognate with Old English ræs "a running, a rush,
    acre
    Old English æcer "tilled field, open land," from Proto-Germanic *akraz "field, pasture" (source also of Old Norse akr, Old Saxon akkar, Old Frisian ekker, Middle Dutch acker, Dutch akker, Old High German achar, German acker, Gothic akrs "field"), from PIE root *agro- "field." "[O
    care
    Old English caru, cearu "sorrow, anxiety, grief," also "burdens of mind; serious mental attention," in late Old English also "concern, anxiety caused by apprehension of evil or the weight of many burdens," from Proto-Germanic *karō "lament; grief, care" (source also of Old Saxon
    acer
    maple tree genus name, from Latin acer, a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from PIE *ak- "be sharp" (see acro-) and so called for its pointed leaves. There seem to have been two roots for "maple" in Indo-European; cognates of this one are said to include Old High German ahorn "m
    rush
    mid-14c. (implied in rushing), "to drive back or down," from Anglo-French russher, from Old French ruser "to dodge, repel," which is from Latin recusare "make an objection against; decline, refuse, reject; be reluctant to" (see recuse; also compare ruse). The meaning "do somethin
    feel
    Old English felan "to touch or have a sensory experience of; perceive, sense (something)," in late Old English "have a mental perception," from Proto-Germanic *foljanan (source also of Old Saxon gifolian, Old Frisian fela, Dutch voelen, Old High German vuolen, German fühlen "to f
    flee
    Old English fleon, flion "take flight, fly from, avoid, escape" (contracted class II strong verb; past tense fleah, past participle flogen), from Proto-Germanic *fleuhanan "to run away" (source also of Old High German fliohan, Old Norse flöja, Old Frisian flia, Dutch vlieden, Ger
    fele
    Old English feola, fela (West Saxon), feolo, feolu (Mercian, Northumbrian), "much, many, in large amounts, very," from a common Germanic adjective from Proto-Germanic *felu (source also of Old Saxon filo, Dutch veel, German viel, Old Norse fiol, Gothic filu), from PIE root *pele-
    travel
    late 14c., "to journey," from travailen (1300) "to make a journey," originally "to toil, labor" (see travail). The semantic development may have been via the notion of "go on a difficult journey," but it also may reflect the difficulty of any journey in the Middle Ages. Replaced
    urn
    late 14c., "large, rounded vase used to preserve the ashes of the dead," from Latin urna "a jar, vessel of baked clay, water-jar; vessel for the ashes of the dead" (also used as a ballot box and for drawing lots), probably from earlier *urc-na, akin to urceus "pitcher, jug," and

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