What is Damping ?

Question

Can someone tell what is damping in civil engg..

Answer 1

Damp is defined as depressed,dejected.

Damping :
Damping is an influence or impact on vibrating system to depress its vibration.

Below is an example figure to understand damping :

Wikipedia definition:
Damping is an influence within or upon an oscillatory system that has the effect of reducing, restricting or preventing its oscillations.

Reference :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damping

http://www.bmb.leeds.ac.uk/illingworth/control/