hamper

Hamper enters English from Anglo-French hanaper (a wicker case), from Old French hanap (a drinking cup, a goblet), from Frankish *hnapp (cup, bowl), from Proto-Germanic *hnappaz. The word started as a cup, became the case the cup was stored in, and then became any large wicker basket. The container replaced the contents in the word's meaning — the basket swallowed the goblet.

In medieval England, the Hanaper was a specific office in the Court of Chancery — the department that collected fees for the sealing of charters. Fees were stored in a wicker basket (the hanaper). The bureaucratic use preserved the older meaning while the common word evolved. A government office and a laundry basket share the same etymology.

In British English, a hamper is primarily a food hamper — a wicker basket filled with luxury foods and wines, given as gifts at Christmas. Fortnum & Mason, the London department store, has sold hampers since the eighteenth century. In American English, a hamper is primarily a laundry hamper — a tall basket or container for dirty clothes. The same word holds champagne in London and socks in Cleveland.

The divergence between British and American meanings is nearly complete. A British person opening a 'hamper' expects smoked salmon and Stilton. An American opening a 'hamper' expects yesterday's underwear. The word traveled across the Atlantic and changed its contents entirely.