What does crampoon mean?
Crampoon is an uncommon English noun with two historically related uses. In modern specialist writing, it can mean a crampon: a metal device fitted to a boot, usually as part of a pair, whose pointed teeth bite into snow or ice and give a climber traction. The word may also appear in historical descriptions of footwear and horsemanship, where a crampoon was a metal spur, commonly one fitted with a rotating rowel to urge a horse. Although the modern sense sounds technical, the older meaning was not necessarily exotic; such spurs were part of ordinary riding equipment. Crampons and crampoons therefore overlap in meaning, although modern English generally favours crampon and preserves the older sense mainly in historical contexts. Crampoon is particularly useful when reading older accounts of travel, warfare, or mountaineering, where metal attachments to boots may otherwise be difficult to identify.
nounA metal spike or set of spikes fitted to footwear, especially for traction when walking on snow or ice. Historically, the term also denoted a rowelled spur worn by a rider.
- A metal spike or set of spikes fitted to a boot, especially for gaining traction on snow or ice; now chiefly an uncommon alternative to crampon.
- A medieval spur worn on a rider's boot, commonly fitted with a rotating rowel to urge the horse.
"Before setting foot on the glacier, the climber checked that every crampoon bit cleanly into the ice."
"Before setting foot on the glacier, the climber checked that every crampoon bit cleanly into the ice."
"The armorer sharpened the crampoon on the rider's boot before the procession."
The standard plural adds -s; the plural is more common than the singular in descriptions of climbing footwear.
"The mountaineer tightened the straps on his crampons before crossing the glacier."
A medieval crampoon was a rider's spur, while the same word can describe the jagged teeth that grip ice beneath a climber's boot.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does crampoon come from?
The word entered Middle English as crampoun, borrowed from Anglo-French crampoun, a form of Old French crampon. Old French crampon was based on crampe, meaning a spur or rowel, with the suffix -on; Old French crampe is generally traced to a Frankish Germanic term for a hook or spur. English later also used the word for the traction devices fitted to climbing boots.
Related word forms
How crampoon is actually used
Crampoon is rare in ordinary modern English. Its modern sense is specialist and chiefly associated with mountaineering, while its older sense belongs to historical and literary descriptions of horsemanship and armour.
Easily confused with crampoon
Crampon is the usual modern term for climbing spikes attached to footwear, whereas crampoon is a less common variant that can also denote a medieval rowelled spur.