Cramp (krămp), n. [OE. crampe, craumpe; akin to D. & Sw. kramp, Dan. krampe, G. krampf (whence F. crampe), Icel. krappr strait, narrow, and to E. crimp, crumple; cf. cram. See Grape.] 1. That which confines or contracts; a restraint; a shackle; a hindrance.
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A narrow fortune is a cramp to a great mind. L'Estrange.
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Crippling his pleasures with the cramp of fear. Cowper.
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2. (Masonry) A device, usually of iron bent at the ends, used to hold together blocks of stone, timbers, etc.; a cramp iron.
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3. (Carp.) A rectangular frame, with a tightening screw, used for compressing the joints of framework, etc.
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4. A piece of wood having a curve corresponding to that of the upper part of the instep, on which the upper leather of a boot is stretched to give it the requisite shape.
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5. (Med.) A spasmodic and painful involuntary contraction of a muscle or muscles, as of the leg.
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The cramp, divers nights, gripeth him in his legs. Sir T. More.
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6. (Med.) A paralysis of certain muscles due to excessive use; as, writer's cramp; milker's cramp, etc.
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Cramp bone, the patella of a sheep; -- formerly used as a charm for the cramp. Halliwell. “He could turn cramp bones into chess men.” Dickens. -- Cramp ring, a ring formerly supposed to have virtue in averting or curing cramp, as having been consecrated by one of the kings of England on Good Friday.
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Cramp, a. [See Cramp, n.] Knotty; difficult. [R.]
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Care being taken not to add any of the cramp reasons for this opinion. Coleridge.
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