a painful involuntary spasmodic contraction of a muscle(in pl) severe abdominal pain, e.g. in menstruation [Middle English crampe from Old French, of Germanic origin]
a usu metal device bent at the ends and used to hold timbers or blocks of stone togethera clamp [Low German or obsolete Dutch krampe hook; related to Old English cradol cradle1]
to affect (somebody) with cramp Suppose she grew so tired and cramped that she could hold on no longer! — L M Montgomeryto confine or restrain (somebody or something) Their researches were severely cramped by niggardly fundingto fasten or hold (something) with a clampcramp somebody's style to be an inhibiting influence on them