stamp 
4. A forcible or impetuous downward thrust 
or blow: as, ho emphasized his order with a 
nln mp of the foot. 5. An impression or mark 
made with a stamp; an impressed or em- 
bossed marker pattern; particularly, an im- 
pressed mark used to certify something, or give 
validity or currency to it: as, the stamp on a 
coin ; the stamp on a certified check. 
What boots it to be coin'd 
With Heav'n's own stamp ? 
Quarles, Emblems, v. 12. 
That sacred name [the king's] gives ornament and grace ; 
And, like his stamp, makes basest metals pass. 
Drydcn, Prol. at Opening of the Is'ew House, 1. 33. 
The rank is but the guinea stamp. Burns, For a' that. 
Specifically (a) An official mark set upon a thing charge- 
able with duty or tax showing that the duty or tax is paid. 
(6) The impression of a public mark or seal required by the 
British government for revenue purposes to be made by 
its officers upon the paper or parchment on which deeds, 
legal instruments, bills of exchange, receipts, checks, in- 
surance policies, etc., are written, the fee for the stamp 
or stamped paper varying with the nature of the instru- 
ment or the amount involved. (See stamp-duty.) For re- 
ceipts, foreign bills of exchange, and agreements, adhesive 
stamps may be used, but in general the stamp must be em- 
bossed or impressed, (c) A small piece of paper having a 
certain figure or design impressed upon it, sold by the 
government to be attached to goods, papers, letters, docu- 
ments, etc., subject to duty, or lo some charge as for post- 
age, in order to show that such duty or charge has been 
paid : as, postage-stamps; receipt-stamps; internal-reve- 
nue stamps. 
6. pi. Stamp-duties: as, the receiver of stamps 
and taxes. See stamp-duty. 7. pi. Money: so 
called in allusion to the use of postage-stamps 
and small paper notes ("shinplasters") as 
money. [Slang, U. S.] 8f. That which is 
marked ; a thing stamped ; a medal. 
Hanging a golden stamp about their necks. 
Shale., Macbeth, iv. 3. 153. 
9f. A coin, especially one of small value. 
Hie. Oh, cruel, merciless woman, 
To talk of law, and know I have no money. 
Vol. I will consume myself to the last stamp, 
Before thou gett'st me. 
Middleton (and others), The Widow, ii. 1. 
10f. A picture cut in wood or metal, or made 
by impression ; an engraving ; a plate or clich6. 
He that will not onely reade, but in manner see, the 
most of these exploits of the Hollanders, with other rari- 
ties of the Indies, may resort to Theodoricke and Israel 
de Bry, who haae in liuely stampes expressed these Naui- 
gations. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 463. 
When I was at Venice, they were putting out very curious 
stamps of the several edifices which are most famous for 
their beauty or magnificence. 
Addison, Remarks on Italy (Works, ed. Bohn, I. 388). 
11. Sanction; value derived from suffrage or 
attestation ; authority. 
The common people do not judge of vice or virtue by 
the morality or the immorality so much as by the stamp 
that is set upon it by men of figure. Sir R. L'Estranye. 
12. Distinguishing mark; imprint; sign; in- 
dication; evidence. 
If ever there was a work which carried with it the stamp 
of originality in all its parts, it is that of John Bunyan's ! 
Southey, Bunyan, p. 70. 
13. Make; cast; form; character; sort; kind; 
brand. 
Those he hath . . . predestinated to be of our stamp 
or character, which is the image of his own Son, in whom, 
for that cause, they are said to be chosen. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v., App. 1. 
He had wantonly involved himself in a number nf small 
book-debts of this stamp. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, i. 12. 
14. In leathcr-maiiuf., a machine for softening 
hides by pounding them in a vat. E. H. Knight. 
15. Same as nobblin. 
In the production of "charcoal plates" (for tinplate 
making), the first rough forged slabs are cut into pieces 
termed stamps. Encyc. Brit., XIII. 319. 
16. pi. Legs. [Old slang.] -Atmospheric stamp. 
See atmospheric. Ball stamp, a peculiar form of stamp 
(so named from the inventor) in use at the mines on 
Lake Superior. It is a direct-action stamp, the stem of 
the stamp being the continuation of the piston-rod of 
the steam-engine which is the motive power. Leavitt 
stamp, an improved form of Ball stamp, used chietty in 
the Lake Superior mines. One head is capable of crushing 
250 tons of ore in 24 hours. This stamp works like the 
Nasmyth hammer, the force of gravity being aided by 
steam-pressure. Stamp Act, an act imposing or regu- 
lating the imposition of stamp-duties; in American colo- 
nial history, an act, also known as Grennlle's Stamp Act, 
passed by the British Parliament in 1765, providing for 
5896 
the leading causes in effecting the revolution. To put 
to stamp*, to put to press ; begin printing. Hall, Hen. 
VIII., an. 25. 
stampage (stam'paj), n. [< stamp + -itgr.'] 
An impression; a squeeze. 
No copy [of the rock inscription] was obtained until Oc- 
tober. 1838, when the traveller Masson most carefully and 
perseveringly made a calico gtampay? and an eye-copy. 
Encyc. Brit., XIII. 118. 
Stamp-album (stamp'al 'bum). H. A blank book 
or album used by collectors for the classification 
and display of postage- and revenue-stamps. 
stamp-battery (stamp'bat"iT-i), ?*. A series of 
stamps in a machine for comminuting ores. 
E. R. Knight. 
stamp-block (stamp'blok), n. A hollow wooden 
block in which mealies are pounded before be- 
ing cooked. [South Africa.] 
Stamp-collecting (stamp'kp-lek"ting), . The 
act or practice of collecting postage- or reve- 
nue-stamps. See philately. 
Stamp-collector (stamp'ko-lek*tor), n. 1. A 
collector or receiver of stamp-duties. 2. One 
who collects postage- or revenue-stamps as 
articles of interest or curiosity ; a philatelist. 
Stamp-distributer (stamp'dis-trib'u-ter), n. 
An official who issues or distributes government 
stamps. 
Stamp-duty (stamp'du'ti), n. A tax or duty 
imposed on the sheets of parchment or paper 
on which specified kinds of legal instruments 
are written. Stamp-duties on legal instruments, such 
as conveyances and deeds, are chiefiy secured by pro- 
hibiting the reception of them in evidence unless they 
bear the stamp required by the law. Stamp-duties were 
first levied in England in the reign of William and Mary. 
Stampede (stam-ped'), . [Formerly also 
stampcdo; < Amer. 8p. estampida, a stampede, 
a particular use of Sp. estampida, estamiMo 
(= Pg. estampido), a crack, crash, loud report; 
connected with estampar, stamp: see stamp, r.] 
1. A sudden fright seizing upon large bodies of 
cattle or horses, and causing them to run for 
long distances; a sudden scattering of a herd 
of cattle or horses; hence, any sudden flight or 
general movement, as of an army, in conse- 
quence of a panic. 
With every herd this stampede occurs ; and, watching 
the proceedings, I hold that a drover ought to have rather 
more patience than Job. 
Mortimer CMins, Thoughts in my Garden, II. 131. 
2. Any sudden unconcerted movement of a 
number of persons actuated by a common im- 
pulse: as, a stampede in a political conven- 
tion for a candidate who seems likely to win. 
Stampedes in American politics have been 
common since the Democratic convention of 
1844. 
At the first ring of the bell a general stampede took 
place ; some twenty hungry souls rushed to the dining- 
room. /, M Alcott, Hospital Sketches, p. 63. 
Stampede (stam-ped'), v. ; pret. and pp. stam- 
peded, ppr. stampeding. [< stampede, .] I. 
intrans. 1. To become generally panic-strick- 
en ; take suddenly to flight, as if under the in- 
fluence of a panic ; scamper off in fright : said 
of herds or droves. 2. To move together, or 
take the same line of conduct, under the influ- 
ence of any sudden and common impulse. See 
stampede, n., 2. 
II. trans. 1. To cause to break and run as if 
panic-stricken; disperse or drive off suddenly 
through panic or terror. 
Those most trying times when . . . the cattle are stam- 
peded by a thunder-storm at night. 
T. Roosevelt, Hunting Trips, p. 7. 
2. To cause to move or act in a mass through 
some sudden common impulse: as, to stampede 
a political convention for a candidate, 
stampedot (stam-pe'do), n. Same as stampede. 
A sudden stampedo or rush of horses. Irving. 
stamper (stam'per), n. [< stamp + !.] 1. 
One who stamps : as, a stamper in the post-of- 
fice. 2. An instrument for stamping; a stamp. 
3. pi. The feet; also, shoes. [Old slang.] 
Strike up, Piper, a merry, merry dance, 
That we OH our stampers may foot it and prance. 
Brome, Jovial Crew, i. 
stamp-mill 
vertically, either by cams or friction-rollers, or, 
as is more commonly the case, by steam- or wa- 
ter-pressure acting on a piston in a closed cyl- 
inder. I'cri'ij. 
stamp-head (stamp'hed), n. In a stamp, the 
rectangular or cylindrical mass of iron at the 
end of the stamp-stem, which by its weight gives 
force to the blow. To the lower end of the stamp- 
head is attached the shoe, a thinner piece of chilled iron 
or steel, which can easily be replaced, when too much worn 
for service, without the necessity of replacing the whole 
stamp-head. 
stamping (stam'ping), n. [< ME. stampi/nge; 
verbal n. of xt<n/i/>, r.] 1. The act of pounding, 
beating, or impressing as with a stamp. 2. 
Something stamped, or made by stamping-ma- 
chinery. 
Groups of U-shaped soft iron ntampitv.it. 
Electrical Ken., XXII. 174. 
3. Same as blocking, 1 (). 
stamping-ground (stam'ping-ground), n. A 
place of habitual resort; a customary haunt. 
[Slang, U. S.] 
It's with them fellows as it is with wild animals. Yon 
can just keep clear of them if you want, stay far out of 
their stamping-yround, hold yourself aloof all the time 
W. M. Bater, New Timothy, p. 176. 
stamping-machine (stara'ping-ma-shen'), n. 
A machine for forming articles of hard materi- 
als, as metal, whether for the first rough shap- 
ing, or for decorative finishing. 
Stamping-mill (stam'ping-mil), n. Same as 
stamp-mill, 1. 
stamping-press (stam'ping-pres),n. 1. In sheet- 
metal work, a power-machine for making hol- 
low ware, as pans, bowls, kitchen-utensils, etc. 
Machines of this class are a development of the earlier 
stamping-machines, the direct blow or stamp having been 
replaced in 
many instances 
by a continuous 
pressure. The 
essential fea- 
tures of the ma- 
chine are two 
dies brought 
one over the 
other by a di- 
rect blow or 
by pressure. 
Where a con- 
tinuous pressure is used by the employment of a screw, 
cam, toggle-joint, or eccentric, forcing one die slowly upon 
the other, the sheet of metal is pressed and stretched into 
shape. The dies are often compound one part cutting 
out the blank from the sheet and another part compressing 
it gradually into shape or so arranged that one part takes 
the blank, and holds it firmly by the edges, while a central 
part stretches it to the required shape. In some forms of 
these machines a series of dies are used successively, the 
blanks being pressed in part, then annealed and re-pressed 
until the final shape is secured. Also called stamping- 
machine. 
2. A small hand-press or seal-press used by pub- 
lic officials and others for impressing stamps 
upon or affixing them to documents, either m 
obedience to legal requirement or as a matter 
of convenience or custom. Compare seal-press. 
3. Same as blocking-press. See also arming- 
press. 
stamp-machine (stamp'ma-shen''), n. In pa- 
per-mamif., a machine for beating rags, etc., 
into pulp. It consists of a number of rods fixed into 
a stout oak beam, and working alternately with a set be- 
low, the water passing off through an opening covered 
with a fine sieve. The machine is of German origin, and 
is used only in small factories. 
stamp-mill (stamp'mil), n. 1. In metal., a 
crushing-mill employing stamps or pestles to 
crush ores or rock to powder preparatory to 
treatment for extracting metals. The stamps, 
which are often of great size and weight, are arranged in 
Die used in a Stamping-press. 
a, vertical section of die for forming a spoon ; 
*, plan of upper die ; c, side view of lower die. 
actions, real-estate transfers, lawsuits, marriage licenses, 
inheritances, etc. : it also provided that the royal forces in 
America should be billeted on the people. The act was to 
go into effect November 1st, 1765, but it aroused intense 
opposition, led by the assemblies of Virginia, Massachu- 
setts, and other colonies. A "Stamp Act Congress," with 
delegates from many of the colonies, met at New York in 
October, 1765, and a petition against this and other re- 
pressive measures was sent to England. The Stamp Act 
was repealed in March, 1766, but the agitation was one of 
suitable machinery, (b) In gunpowder-manuf., a machine 
used in small mills, consisting of ten or twelve stamps of 
hard wood, arranged in a row, each stamp having a bronze 
shoe. The material to be pulverized is placed in cavities 
in a block of solid oak. (c) In porcelain-mami/., a mill for 
pulverizing calcined flints preparatory to treatment in the 
grinding-vat. 
5. pi. In ornith., the Calcatores. 
Stamp-hammer (stamp'ham"er), n. A direct- 
acting hammer where the hammer-block is lifted 
Stump-mill. 
a, undershot water-wheel ; <\ shaft ; c, cams; rf, wipers; e, liftersof 
pine, beach, or oak, with chilled cast-iron stamps;/", Refers (otherwise 
called mortars or battery-boxes! which receive the "stuff" or broken 
ore and retain it until reduced to the required degree of fineness. The 
ore is fed to the stamps from an inclined platform at the rear of the 
kofers. 
a row, and are usually raised by means of wipers and cams 
on a revolving shaft turned by steam- or water-power. 
The cams release the stamps in turn, and they fall on the 
ore placed in chambers below, the sides of these chambers 
being perforated to allow the escape of the crushed mate- 
