Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DECAMP
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
pronounce
DECAMP:
Say it "dee CAMP."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Today's word decamp is easy to snap in half: the "de-" part means "away," leaving just the "camp" part. And yes, to literally decamp is to pack up and head off and away from your campsite.
That prefix "de-" is a great one to know!
It basically undoes whatever it attaches itself to: it often means "away," or something really similar, like "not," "off," "aside," or "down." For example, it means "down" in the word der__ion: "the act of laughing down at someone." And it means "out, or out of" in the hilarious word def__estrate: "to toss something out of a window."
But then it's so sneaky. It can also mean "utterly, completely, or intensively." That's what it means in the word den___ate, for example, literally "to completely blacken (someone's reputation)."
So, yeah: "De-" can mean "not at all." Or "completely." Which, to me, are opposites. You guys, am I going crazy? Have I been reading too many dictionary entries in a row? Do I need to step away from the Oxford English Dictionary?
Well, the OED created this problem for me, and now it's gonna solve it. I checked the entry on "de-" and was blessed with an epi__any (a moment of sudden clarity or understanding).
Sense 1(c)(a) of this prefix is: "Down to the bottom, completely; hence thoroughly on and on."
Maybe that connection should have been obvious? Okay, I'll show myself out. Time to decamp from this very long intro and get down to the business of exploring the word decamp.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
We took our word "decamp" from French, where it means to break camp, something large groups of soldiers do: pack up their supplies and march on.
We can still use that literal meaning in English: "They decamped at dawn and marched for six miles." "When he woke up, everyone else had decamped."
But more often, in English, we use "decamp" more loosely to mean "to leave quickly or suddenly."
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Verb, the intransitive kind: "At sunrise, they decamped;" "She decamped for a better position with higher pay."
Other forms:
decamped, decamping, decampment
how to use it:
Pick the semi-common word "decamp" (instead of, say, "bolt," "escape," "clear out," "skedaddle" and so on) when you want to describe someone's sudden departure with a touch of humor or sophistication.
It's not always funny--often it's neutral--but it can call to mind the frantic, cartoonish scene of people grabbing their stuff and skipping town, possibly pursued by an enemy army, or the police.
Talk about people decamping, often from places, and/or to or for other places, or with certain things in hand.
examples:
"A common complaint among Marrakesh art collectors is that all the good young artists decamp to Europe."
— Charly Wilder, New York Times, 23 December 2010
"Come sunrise, as fans decamped from the boat party and the other various after-gigs, they stumbled off, weary but high spirited."
— August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 15 March 2015
has this page helped you understand "decamp"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "decamp" without saying "beat it" or "hightail it out of there."
try it out:
In an article titled "76 Million Baby Boomers Abscond To Fiji After Draining Nation's Social Security, Medicare Accounts," the Onion said that "since decamping... the baby boomers have spent the funds on opulent lifestyles in the tropics where they intend to live out the rest of their days relaxing in comfort, all at the expense of the children and grandchildren they reportedly claimed to be concerned about."
They were just kidding, of course.
But if for some crazy reason you, too, were to leave all your responsibilities behind and decamp for some wonderful destination, where would you go? What would you do there?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for April is "Netflix and Anagram."
Check out the anagrammed title of a series or movie you can watch on Netflix, along with a descriptive sentence or two about it from Google. See if you can come up with the real title. To see the answer, scroll all the way down.
Here's an example. IF CRUEL: "After abandoning his throne and retiring to Los Angeles, he indulges in his favorite things (women, wine and song) -- until a murder takes place outside of his upscale nightclub." The answer is LUCIFER.
Try this one today:
DUCK POLE: "Manipulated into embezzling funds for her boyfriend and sentenced to prison, a naïve young woman must quickly learn to survive in a harsh new world."
review this word:
1.
A near opposite of DECAMP is
A. EXPAND.
B. LOITER.
C. EXPLORE.
2.
Waterford Whispers News joked that local man Eddie Curtin hates how loud it is in pubs, that he's "about as comfortable as a snowman in an oven the way pubs have gone," and that he "decamped _____ with a bag of cans in a bid to experience the tranquility he craved."
A. several bemused acquaintances
B. to a field in the middle of nowhere
C. to the mayor a suspicious-looking package
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Say it "dee CAMP."
Today's word decamp is easy to snap in half: the "de-" part means "away," leaving just the "camp" part. And yes, to literally decamp is to pack up and head off and away from your campsite.
We took our word "decamp" from French, where it means to break camp, something large groups of soldiers do: pack up their supplies and march on.
Part of speech:
Pick the semi-common word "decamp" (instead of, say, "bolt," "escape," "clear out," "skedaddle" and so on) when you want to describe someone's sudden departure with a touch of humor or sophistication.
"A common complaint among Marrakesh art collectors is that all the good young artists decamp to Europe."
Explain the meaning of "decamp" without saying "beat it" or "hightail it out of there."
In an article titled "76 Million Baby Boomers Abscond To Fiji After Draining Nation's Social Security, Medicare Accounts," the Onion said that "since decamping... the baby boomers have spent the funds on opulent lifestyles in the tropics where they intend to live out the rest of their days relaxing in comfort, all at the expense of the children and grandchildren they reportedly claimed to be concerned about."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1.
A near opposite of DECAMP is
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
|