scam·per I. \ˈskampə(r), -aam-, -aim-\intransitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: probably from obsolete Dutch schampen to flee, from Middle French escamper, from Italian scampare, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin excampare to decamp, from Latin ex- + campus field — more at camp 1.: to run away : flee 2.: to run nimbly and usually playfully about < a gray squirrel is scampering from limb to limb — D.J.Malcolm > II. noun (-s) : a playful scurrying run