stamp
n. countablen. a small piece of paper you buy and stick onto an envelope to pay for the cost of mailing it. It can also mean a tool used for printing a mark or pattern onto a surface.
n. a small adhesive piece of paper issued by a postal authority to indicate payment of postage. Also refers to an instrument or die used for impressing a mark or design upon a surface.
I need to buy a stamp for this letter.
The clerk pressed a red rubber stamp onto the document to show that the fee was paid.
Collectors often seek out rare stamps with printing errors, as these historical anomalies can command significant prices at international auctions.
From Middle English stampen (“to pound, crush”), from assumed Old English stampian, variant of Old English stempan (“to crush, pound, pound in mortar, stamp”), from Proto-West Germanic stampōn, stampijan, from Proto-Germanic stampōną, stampijaną (“to trample, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European stemb- (“to trample down”). Cognate with Dutch stampen (“to stamp, pitch”), German stampfen (“to stamp”), Danish stampe (“to stamp”), Swedish stampa (“to stomp”), Occitan estampar, Polish stąpać (“to step, treat”). See also stomp, step. Marks indicating that postage had been paid were originally made by stamping the item to be mailed; when affixed pieces of paper were introduced for this purpose, the term “stamp” was transferred to cover this new form.
Commonly used with the verb 'affix' in formal contexts or 'stick on' in casual speech.