sap

See also sáp, sắp, s.ap., sæp, and SAP

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sæp/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æp

Etymology 1

From Old English sæp, from Proto-Germanic *sapōn (cf. East Frisian/Dutch sap, German Saft, Icelandic safi), from Proto-Indo-European *sab-, Proto-Indo-European *sap- (cf. Welsh sybwydd 'fir', Latin sapa (“must, new wine”), Russian сопли (sópli, “snivel”), Armenian համ (ham, “juice, taste”), Avestan višāpa 'having poisonous juices', Sanskrit sabar 'juice, nectar'), from *sap 'to taste'. More at sage.

Noun

Wikipedia sap (countable and uncountable; plural saps)

1. (uncountable) The juice of plants of any kind, especially the ascending and descending juices or circulating fluid essential to nutrition.
2. (uncountable) The sap-wood, or alburnum, of a tree.
3. (slang, countable) A simpleton; a saphead; a milksop; a naive person.

Derived terms

terms derived from sap

crude sap elaborated sap sap ball sap green saphead

sapling sap poison sap rot sapsucker sap tube

Translations

juice of plant

• Belarusian: сок (be) (sok) m 
• Bulgarian: мъзга (bg) (mǎzga) f , сок (bg) (sok) m 
• Catalan: saba (ca) f
• Chamicuro: ijsana'to
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 樹液 (cmn), 树液 (cmn) (shùyè), 汁 (cmn) (shī)

• Czech: míza (cs) f
• Dutch: sap (nl) n
• Finnish: mahla (fi)
• French: sève (fr) f
• German: Saft (de) m
• Italian: linfa (it) f
• Japanese: 樹液 (ja) (じゅえき, jueki), 汁 (ja) (しる, shiru)

• Jèrriais: sève f
• Korean: 즙 (ko) (jeup) (汁 (ko)), 수액 (ko) (suaek) (樹液 (ko))
• Norwegian: sevje (no) f
• Portuguese: seiva (pt)
• Russian: сок (ru) (sok) m 
• Scottish Gaelic: brìgh (gd) f
• Slovak: miazga (sk) f
• Spanish: savia (es)
• Swahili: utomvu (sw)
• Swedish: sav (sv) c
• Telugu: పాలు (te)
• Tok Pisin: blut (tpi)
• Ukrainian: сік (uk) (sik) m 

sapwood of a tree

• Dutch: spint (nl) n, spinthout (nl) n
• German: Mantelholz n, Splint m
• Italian: alburno (it) m

• Russian: сок (sok) m, живица (živíca) f
• Scottish Gaelic: brìgh (gd) f, sùgh (gd) m
• Tok Pisin: blut (tpi)

slang: saphead

• Dutch: slappeling (nl) m, imbeciel (nl) m, idioot (nl) m, simpele (nl) m
• Finnish: hölmö (fi)
• French: naïf (fr), nigaud (fr)
• Hebrew: פראייר (he) (frayer) m

• Italian: sempliciotto (it) m
• Norwegian: tosk (no) m
• Spanish: simplon (es) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: succo

Etymology 2

Probably from sapling.

Noun

sap (plural saps)

1. (countable, US, slang) A short wooden club; a leather-covered hand weapon; a blackjack.

Translations

leather-covered hand weapon

• Dutch: ploertendoder (nl) m

• Italian: manganello (it) m

Verb

sap (third-person singular simple present saps, present participle sapping, simple past and past participle sapped)

1. (transitive, slang) To strike with a sap (with a blackjack).

Translations

strike with a sap

• Dutch: knuppelen (nl)

• German: aufzehren (de), erschöpfen (de)

Etymology 3

From French saper (compare Spanish zapar and Italian zappare) from sape (“sort of scythe”), from Late Latin sappa (“sort of mattock”).

Noun

sap (plural saps)

1. (military) A narrow ditch or trench made from the foremost parallel toward the glacis or covert way of a besieged place by digging under cover of gabions, etc.

Derived terms

• sap fagot
• sap roller
• sapper

Translations

narrow ditch or trench

• Finnish: juoksuhauta (most often “juoksuhauta” would translate into English as “trench”. In Finnish the same word covers also “sap”.)
• Icelandic: skotgröf (is) f

• Manx: fo-chlash (gv) f
• Russian: сапа (ru) (sápa) f 

Verb

sap (third-person singular simple present saps, present participle sapping, simple past and past participle sapped)

1. (transitive) To subvert by digging or wearing away; to mine; to undermine; to destroy the foundation of.
   • (Can we date this quote?) John Dryden

     Nor safe their dwellings were, for sapped by floods, / Their houses fell upon their household gods.

2. (transitive, military) To pierce with saps.
3. To make unstable or infirm; to unsettle; to weaken.
   • 1850, Alfred Tennyson, Ring, Out, Wild Bells

     Ring out the grief that saps the mind,/

4. (transitive) To gradually weaken.
   • to sap one’s conscience
5. (intransitive) To proceed by mining, or by secretly undermining; to execute saps — 12
   • (Can we date this quote?) The Tatler

     Both assaults carried on by sapping.

Translations

undermine

• Dutch: ondermijnen (nl), aantasten (nl), ondergraven (nl)
• Finnish: heikentää (fi)
• French: saper (fr), miner (fr)

• Italian: scalzare (it), minare (it)
• Spanish: zapar (es)

pierce with saps

• Manx: towl (gv)

make unstable; weaken

• Dutch: ondermijnen (nl), verzwakken (nl), aantasten (nl)
• Finnish: uuvuttaa (fi), heikentää (fi)

• Italian: indebolire (it), fiaccare (it), logorare (it)

gradually weaken

• Dutch: ondermijnen (nl), knagen (nl) aan, aantasten (nl)

• Russian: истощать (ru) (istoščatʹ), иссушать (ru) (issušatʹ)

proceed by mining

• Dutch: ondermijnen (nl), ondergraven (nl)

Anagrams

• APS
• asp, ASP
• pas, Pas, PAs
• Psa., PSA
• spa, Spa

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ap

Verb

sap

1. Third-person singular present indicative form of saber.

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑp
• IPA: /sɑp/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch sap. Cognate to English sap and German Saft (from Old High German saf).

Noun

sap n (plural sappen, diminutive sapje)

1. sap (fluid in plants)
2. juice

Derived terms

• sinaasappelsap

Anagrams

• pas

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Lojban

Rafsi

sap

1. rafsi of sampu.

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Romani

Noun

sap m

1. snake

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Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic sap, from Proto-Turkic.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɑp/

Noun

sap

1. shaft

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Volapük

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sɑːp/

Etymology

Latin sapiō, "I am wise."

Noun

sap

1. wisdom