Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
tamper — tam·per vi 1: to bring improper influence to bear (as by bribery or intimidation) used with with tamper ed with the jurors 2: to alter or interfere in an unauthorized or improper manner used with with tamper ed with evidence … Law dictionary
Tamper — can mean:* A device used for tamping, commonly to prepare ground coffee beans to make espresso. * * A ballast tamper, a machine that tamps track ballast. * In nuclear weapon design, either a shell surrounding the fission core and keeping the… … Wikipedia
tamper — tam‧per [ˈtæmpə ǁ ər] verb tamper with something phrasal verb [transitive] to touch something or make changes to it without permission, especially in order to deliberately damage it: • Some of the packs may have been tampered with. • The… … Financial and business terms
Tamper — Tam per, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Tampered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tampering}.] [A corruption of temper.] 1. To meddle; to be busy; to try little experiments; as, to tamper with a disease. [1913 Webster] T is dangerous tampering with a muse. Roscommon.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
tamper — (v.) 1560s, figurative use of tamper to work in clay, etc., so as to mix it thoroughly, probably originally a variant of TEMPER (Cf. temper) (q.v.), which is how it was initially spelled. Perhaps it is a dialectal workmen s pronunciation. Related … Etymology dictionary
tamper — [v1] interfere, alter busybody*, butt in*, change, cook, cut, damage, destroy, diversify, doctor, fiddle with*, fool, horn in*, interlope, interpose, intrude, irrigate, manipulate, meddle, mess around with*, monkey around*, muck about*, phony up* … New thesaurus
tamper — ► VERB (tamper with) ▪ interfere with (something) without authority or so as to cause damage. DERIVATIVES tamperer noun. ORIGIN alteration of TEMPER(Cf. ↑temperer) … English terms dictionary
tamper — tamper1 [tam′pər] n. a person or thing that tamps; specif., any of various instruments or tools for tamping tamper2 [tam′pər] vi. [var. of TEMPER] Archaic to contrive something secretly; plot; scheme to contrive something secretly; plot; scheme… … English World dictionary
Tamper — Tamp er, n. 1. One who tamps; specifically, one who prepares for blasting, by filling the hole in which the charge is placed. [1913 Webster] 2. An instrument used in tamping; a tamping iron. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
tamper — [tɑ̃pœʀ] n. m. ÉTYM. Mil. XXe (in Larousse, 1968); mot angl., de to tamp « bourrer un trou de mine ». ❖ ♦ Anglic. Techn. Enveloppe solide d une bombe atomique … Encyclopédie Universelle
tamper — Tamper une maison; dites, étayer , v … Dictionnaire grammatical du mauvais langage
