sap1
- the juice or vital circulating fluid of a plant, especially of a woody plant.
- any vital body fluid.
- energy; vitality.
- sapwood.
- Slang. a fool; dupe.
- Metallurgy. soft metal at the core of a bar of blister steel.
- to drain the sap from.
Origin of sap1
sap2
- Fortification. a deep, narrow trench constructed so as to form an approach to a besieged place or an enemy's position.
- Fortification.
- to approach (a besieged place or an enemy position) by means of deep, narrow trenches protected by gabions or parapets.
- to dig such trenches in (ground).
- to undermine; weaken or destroy insidiously.
- Fortification. to dig a sap.
Origin of sap2
Synonyms
See more synonyms for sap on Thesaurus.comExamples from the Web for saps
Contemporary Examples
It is like a habit-forming drug that, in victory, saps your elation and, in defeat, deepens your despair.
To live with anxiety is to live with a leech that saps you of your energy, confidence, and chutzpah.
How to Cure Your Anxiety? Read Henry James’s ‘The Portrait of a Lady,’ Of Course.Ella Berthoud, Susan Elderkind
September 26, 2013
The Sex Addiction EpidemicChris Lee, Newsweek It wrecks marriages, destroys careers, and saps self-worth.
Besides, complaining about McConnell only saps valuable time away from objecting vehemently to Joe Lieberman.
Historical Examples
Strafford, The wind that saps these walls can undermine Your camp in Scotland, too.
Browning's EnglandHelen Archibald Clarke
"You got these saps across the barrel," the general told him happily.
Project MastodonClifford Donald Simak
So what do we get—we get knifes in the faces, saps on the head—a concussion, you tell me!
Police Your PlanetLester del Rey
Many planters, however, leave the saps on the vines, saving the best only.
The Peanut PlantB. W. Jones
It saps all my strength and all my pleasure in life: and to no purpose.
Katharine FrenshamBeatrice Harraden
SAPS
- South African Police Service
sap1
- a solution of mineral salts, sugars, etc, that circulates in a plant
- any vital body fluid
- energy; vigour
- slang a gullible or foolish person
- another name for sapwood
- to drain of sap
Word Origin
sap2
- a deep and narrow trench used to approach or undermine an enemy position, esp in siege warfare
- to undermine (a fortification, etc) by digging saps
- (tr) to weaken
Word Origin
SAP1
- South African Police
SAP2
- Standard Assessment Procedure, the recognized performance indicator for measuring energy efficiency in buildings
Word Origin and History for saps
sap
n.1
"liquid in a plant," Old English sæpm from Proto-Germanic *sapam (cf. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch sap, Old High German saf, German Saft "juice"), from PIE *sab- "juice, fluid" (cf. Latin sapere "to taste"), from root *sab- "juice, fluid" (cf. Sanskrit sabar- "sap, milk, nectar," Irish sug, Russian soku "sap," Lithuanian sakas "tree-gum"). As a verb meaning "To drain the sap from," 1725.
sap
n.2
"simpleton," 1815, originally especially in Scottish and English schoolboy slang, probably from earlier sapskull (1735), saphead (1798), from sap as a shortened form of sapwood "soft wood between the inner bark and the heartwood" (late 14c.), from sap (n.1) + wood (n.); so called because it conducts the sap; cf. sappy.
sap
v.1
"dig a trench toward the enemy's position," 1590s, from Middle French saper, from sappe "spade," from Late Latin sappa "spade" (cf. Italian zappa, Spanish zapa "spade"). Extended sense "weaken or destroy insidiously" is from 1755, probably influenced by the verb form of sap (n.1), on the notion of "draining the vital sap from." Related: Sapped; sapping.
sap
sap
v.2
"hit with a sap," 1926, from sap (n.3). Related: Sapped; sapping.
sap
- The watery fluid that circulates through a plant that has vascular tissues. Sap moving up the xylem carries water and minerals, while sap moving down the phloem carries water and food.
- See cell sap.