Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HAM'PER, v.t. [See the Noun.]

1. To shackle; to entangle; hence, to impede in motion or progress, or to render progress difficult. A lion hampered in a net. L'Estrange. They hamper and entangle our souls, and hinder their flight upward. Tillotson.
2. To insnare; to inveigle; to catch with allurements. Shak.
3. To tangle; to render complicated. Blackmore.
4. To perplex; to embarrass. Hampered by the laws. Butler.