saphead

[ sap-hed ]

/ ˈsæpˌhɛd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR saphead ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Slang.

a simpleton; fool.

Nearby words

sap orchard, sapajou, sapanwood, sapele, saphar, saphead, sapheaded, saphena, saphenous, saphenous nerve, saphenous vein

Origin of saphead

First recorded in 1790–1800; sap¹ + head

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for saphead

She wasn't a saphead herself, but there might be some about.
Two Knapsacks|John Campbell
The latter called their enemies "muckers," and these retorted with the term "saphead."
The Blue Dragon|Kirk Munroe
A feller that kin kick like that didn't orter be called Sapwood nor Saphead nor Sapanything.
Two Little Savages|Ernest Thompson Seton
He doesn't fancy Captain Billy Morgan, thinks him rather a saphead.
Janet of the Dunes|Harriet T. Comstock

I bet I know what that saphead of an editor had to say without reading his letter.
Molly Brown's Post-Graduate Days|Nell Speed

British Dictionary definitions for saphead (1 of 2)

saphead

/ (ˈsæpˌhɛd) /

noun

slang a simpleton, idiot, or fool

Derived Forms

sapheaded, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for saphead (2 of 2)

saphead

/ (ˈsæpˌhɛd) /

noun

military the end of a sap nearest to the enemy

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