To set up a temporary camp; to establish a military or temporary settlement in a location.
From en- + camp (from French camp, from Italian campo, from Latin campus meaning field). Military usage dates to the 16th century when armies needed to describe settling in the field.
Armies have 'encamped' for centuries—there's a formal, military tone to this word that 'camp out' doesn't have. When Napoleon's forces encamped outside a city, it meant serious business!
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