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lop1

[lop]
verb (used with object), lopped, lop·ping.
  1. to cut off (branches, twigs, etc.) from a tree or other plant.
  2. to cut off (a limb, part, or the like) from a person, animal, etc.
  3. to cut off the branches, twigs, etc., of (a tree or other plant).
  4. to eliminate as unnecessary or excessive: We had to lop off whole pages of the report before presenting it to the committee.
  5. Archaic. to cut off the head, limbs, etc., of (a person).
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verb (used without object), lopped, lop·ping.
  1. to cut off branches, twigs, etc., as of a tree.
  2. to remove parts by or as by cutting.
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noun
  1. parts or a part lopped off.
  2. (of trees) the smaller branches and twigs not useful as timber.
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Origin of lop1

1375–1425; late Middle English loppe part or parts cut off; perhaps akin to Old English loppe spider (see lop2, lobster

lop2

[lop]
verb (used without object), lopped, lop·ping.
  1. to hang loosely or limply; droop.
  2. to sway, move, or go in a drooping or heavy, awkward way.
  3. to move in short, quick leaps: a rabbit lopping through the garden.
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verb (used with object), lopped, lop·ping.
  1. to let hang or droop: He lopped his arms at his sides in utter exhaustion.
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adjective
  1. hanging down limply or droopingly: lop ears.
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Origin of lop2

1570–80; v. use of obsolete lop spider or lop dangling part of a tree (see lop1); literally, to behave like a lop, i.e., to dangle, hang loosely. See lob1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

shearchopparecutprunetruncatemowcropsnipclip

Examples from the Web for lopping

Historical Examples

  • Two small gangs of men were at work, one felling, the other lopping.

    The Pit Prop Syndicate

    Freeman Wills Crofts

  • There's no sense in lopping off a few branches even of deadwood.

    Jack O' Judgment

    Edgar Wallace

  • Were it only the lopping off of a hand or a foot, I should not delay.

  • Near the edge of the coppice Tom Gaunt was lopping at some bushes.

    The Freelands

    John Galsworthy

  • But the argument is simplified by lopping off the greater part of the premise.

    Creative Unity

    Rabindranath Tagore

British Dictionary definitions for lopping

lop1

verb lops, lopping or lopped (tr usually foll by off)
  1. to sever (parts) from a tree, body, etc, esp with swift strokes
  2. to cut out or eliminate from as excessive
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noun
  1. a part or parts lopped off, as from a tree
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Derived Formslopper, noun

Word Origin

C15 loppe branches cut off; compare lob 1

lop2

verb lops, lopping or lopped
  1. to hang or allow to hang loosely
  2. (intr) to slouch about or move awkwardly
  3. (intr) a less common word for lope
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Word Origin

C16: perhaps related to lop 1; compare lob 1

lop3

noun
  1. Northern English dialect a flea
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Word Origin

probably from Old Norse hloppa (unattested) flea, from hlaupa to leap
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 lopping

lop

v.1

"cut off," 1510s, from Middle English loppe (n.) "small branches and twigs trimmed from trees" (early 15c.), of unknown origin. Related: Lopped (mid-15c.); lopping. Place name Loppedthorn is attested from 1287.

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lop

v.2

"droop, hang loosely," 1570s, probably a variant of lob or of lap (v.); cf. lopsided (1711), originally lapsided, first used of ships. Lop-eared attested from 1680s. Related: Lopped; lopping.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper