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sod1

[sod]
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noun
  1. a section cut or torn from the surface of grassland, containing the matted roots of grass.
  2. the surface of the ground, especially when covered with grass; turf; sward.
verb (used with object), sod·ded, sod·ding.
  1. to cover with sods or sod.

Origin of sod1

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German sode turf
Related formssod·less, adjective

sod2

[sod]
verb Archaic.
  1. simple past tense of seethe.

sod3

[sod]Chiefly British Slang.
noun
  1. sodomite; homosexual.
  2. chap; fellow; guy.
  3. child; kid; brat.
verb (used with object), sod·ded, sod·ding.
  1. to damn: Sod the bloody bastard!
Verb Phrases
  1. sod off, to leave (usually as an imperative): Why don't you just sod off!
Compare bugger1.

Origin of sod3

1875–80; by shortening of sodomite
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sodding

Historical Examples

  • At any rate, they talked of sodding Captain Ussher at the wedding—didn't they?

    The Macdermots of Ballycloran

    Anthony Trollope

  • It is a good thing to have the sodding and the paving in the same contract.

    Convenient Houses

    Louis Henry Gibson

  • Our sodding should have been done in the spring for best results.

    The Scientific American Boy

    A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond

  • He had been sodding the mound with velvety green turf, and planting lilies and immortelles upon it.

    Little Golden's Daughter

    Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller

  • The sod which is best adapted to the Sodding of lawns is that which comes from an old, closely grazed pasture.

British Dictionary definitions for sodding

sod1

noun
  1. a piece of grass-covered surface soil held together by the roots of the grass; turf
  2. poetic the ground
verb sods, sodding or sodded
  1. (tr) to cover with sods

Word Origin

C15: from Low German; compare Middle Low German, Middle Dutch sode; related to Old Frisian sātha

sod2

noun
  1. a person considered to be obnoxious
  2. a jocular word for a personthe poor sod hasn't been out for weeks
  3. sod all slang nothing
interjection
  1. sod it a strong exclamation of annoyance
See also sod off
Derived Formssodding, adjective

Word Origin

C19: shortened from sodomite
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sodding

sod

n.1

"turf, slice of earth with grass on it," mid-15c., apparently from Middle Dutch sode "turf," or Middle Low German sode, both related to Old Frisian satha "sod," all of uncertain origin. Perhaps the notion is water saturation and the group is related to sog. The (old) sod "Ireland" is from 1812.

sod

n.2

term of abuse, 1818, short for sodomite (also see sodomy). British colloquial sod-all "nothing" is attested from 1958.

sod

v.1

c.1400, "to cover with sod," from sod (n.). Related: Sodded; sodding.

sod

v.2

in sod off (1960), British slang term of dismissal; see sod (n.2).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper