c. 1300, dampnacioun, "condemnation to Hell by God," also "fact of being condemned by judicial sentence," from Old French damnation, from Latin damnationem (nominative damnatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of damnare "to doom, condemn" (see damn). As an imprecation, attested from c. 1600.

Damnation follows death in other men,

But your damn'd Poet lives and writes agen.

[Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell, 1707 or 1708]

late 14c., dampned, "believed to be sentenced to punishment in a future state;" mid-15c., "condemned, judicially sentenced," past-participle adjective from damn (v.). Meaning "hateful, detestable" is from 1560s, hence its use as an objurgation expressing more or less dislike. In literary use printed 18c.-19c. as d____d. As a noun, "those condemned to eternal suffering in Hell," late 14c. Superlative damndest (originally damnedst) "worst one can do" is attested from 1830.

flattering courtier of Dionysius I, tyrant of Syracuse; his name in Greek means literally "fame of the people," from dēmos, damos "people" (see demotic) + -kles "fame," a common ending in Greek proper names, related to kleos "rumor, report, news; good report, fame, glory," from PIE *klew-yo-, suffixed form of root *kleu- "to hear." To teach Damocles the peril that accompanies a tyrant's pleasures, Dionysius seated him at a banquet with a sword suspended above his head by a single hair. Hence the figurative use of sword of Damocles, by 1747. Related: Damoclean.

early 14c., "noxious vapor in a coal mine, fire-damp, stifling poisonous gas," perhaps in Old English but there is no record of it. If not, probably from Middle Low German damp; ultimately in either case from Proto-Germanic *dampaz (source also of Old High German damph, German Dampf "vapor;" Old Norse dampi "dust"). Sense of "moist air, moisture, humidity" is not easily distinguished from the older sense but is certainly attested by 1706.

late 14c., "to suffocate" (with or as with damp, foul air in a mine), from damp (n.). Figurative meaning "to check or retard the force or action of (the spirits, etc.)" is attested by 1540s. Meaning "to moisten" is recorded from 1670s. Century Dictionary (1897) states that "Dampen is now more common in the literal sense, and is sometimes used in the derived senses." Related: Damped; damping.

1580s, "dazed," from damp (n.). Meaning "slightly wet" is from 1706. Related: Damply; dampness.

1630s, "to dull or deaden, make weak" (force, enthusiasm, ardor, etc.), from damp (adj.) + -en (1). Meaning "to moisten, make humid" is recorded from 1827. Related: Dampened; dampening.

"one who or that which dampens," 1857, agent noun from dampen.

"one who or that which dampens," 1748, in the figurative sense, in reference to spirits, enthusiasm, etc., agent noun from damp (v.). In mechanical senses, "device for checking action:" 1783 in reference to a felt-covered piece of wood, etc., which deadens the string after the note is played; 1788 of a chimney, stove, etc., "metal plate in the flue used to control combustion by regulating the draft." Either or both reinforced the figurative senses. The piano damper-pedal (1848) raises the dampers of all the strings so the notes are prolonged and sympathetic vibrations produced.

early 13c., damisele, "young, unmarried woman," especially a maiden of gentle birth, also "maid in waiting, handmaiden assisting a lady," from Anglo-French damaisele and Old French dameisele "woman of noble birth" (Modern French demoiselle "young lady"), modified (by association with dame) from earlier donsele, from Gallo-Roman *domnicella, diminutive of Latin domina "lady" (see dame). Archaic until revived by romantic poets, along with 16c.-17c. variant form damozel (which was used by Spenser). Damsel-fly for "dragon-fly" is by 1815, from a sense in French demoiselle.