cramp

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
  2. noun a clamp for holding pieces of wood together while they are glued
  3. noun a strip of metal with ends bent at right angles; used to hold masonry together

Etymology

From Middle English crampe, from Old French crampe (“cramp”), from Frankish *krampa (“cramp”), from Proto-West Germanic *krampu, from Proto-Germanic *krampō (“cramp, clasp”). Distant relative of English crop.

In classic literature

Synonyms

spasm, muscle spasm

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