Scamp
mid 18th century (denoting a highwayman): from obsolete scamp ‘rob on the highway’, probably from Middle Dutch schampen ‘slip away’, from Old French eschamper . Early usage (still reflected in West Indian English) was derogatory.
wiktionary
From Middle Dutch schampen(“slip away”), from Old French escamper(“to run away, to make one's escape”), from Vulgar Latin *excampare(“decamp”), from Latin ex campo.
Perhaps related to sense 1, but influenced by the later attested skimp; however, compare Icelandic skamta(“to dole out, to stint”), which is related to skammur(“short”).
scamp (plural scamps)
etymonline
scamp (n.)
1782, "highway robber," probably from dialectal verb scamp "to roam" (1753, perhaps from 16c.), which is shortened from scamper. By 1808 in a general sense of "fugitive, vagabond, swindler, mean villain;" used in the affectionate sense of "rascal" since 1837.
scamp (v.)
"do in a hasty manner, perform in a slipshod or perfunctory way," 1837, probably from a dialect word, perhaps from a Scandinavian source (OED compares Old Norse skemma "to shorten, make shorter," from skammr "short; brief; lately"), or a blend of scant and skimp [Klein], or a back-formation from scamper. Related: Scamped; scamping.
