sap
noun
[ sap ]
• the fluid which circulates in the vascular system of a plant, consisting chiefly of water with dissolved sugars and mineral salts.
sap
verb
• gradually weaken or destroy (a person's strength or power).
• "our energy is being sapped by bureaucrats and politicians"
Similar:
erode,
wear away,
wear down,
deplete,
reduce,
lessen,
lower,
attenuate,
undermine,
exhaust,
impair,
drain,
bleed,
consume,
empty,
deprive,
milk,
Origin:
Old English sæp, probably of Germanic origin. The verb (dating from the mid 18th century) is often interpreted as a figurative use of the notion ‘drain the sap from’, but is derived originally from the verb sap2, in the sense ‘undermine’.
sap
noun
• a tunnel or trench to conceal an assailant's approach to a fortified place.
sap
verb
• dig a sap or saps.
• "having sapped up to the glacis of the city ramparts, Versaillais troops entered the city"
Origin:
late 16th century (as a verb in the sense ‘dig a sap or covered trench’): from French saper, from Italian zappare, from zappa ‘spade, spadework’, probably from Arabic sarab ‘underground passage’, or sabora ‘probe a wound, explore’.
sap
noun
• a foolish and gullible person.
• "He fell for it! What a sap!"
Similar:
idiot,
fool,
halfwit,
nincompoop,
dunce,
dolt,
ignoramus,
cretin,
imbecile,
dullard,
moron,
simpleton,
clod,
dope,
ninny,
chump,
dimwit,
nitwit,
goon,
dumbo,
dummy,
dum-dum,
dumb-bell,
loon,
jackass,
bonehead,
fathead,
numbskull,
blockhead,
dunderhead,
chucklehead,
knucklehead,
muttonhead,
pudding-head,
thickhead,
wooden-head,
airhead,
pinhead,
lamebrain,
pea-brain,
birdbrain,
zombie,
jerk,
nerd,
dipstick,
donkey,
noodle,
nit,
twit,
numpty,
clot,
plonker,
ass,
berk,
prat,
pillock,
wally,
git,
wazzock,
divvy,
nerk,
twerp,
twonk,
charlie,
mug,
muppet,
nyaff,
balloon,
sumph,
gowk,
gobdaw,
schmuck,
bozo,
boob,
lamer,
turkey,
schlepper,
chowderhead,
dumbhead,
dumbass,
goofball,
goof,
goofus,
galoot,
dork,
lummox,
klutz,
putz,
schlemiel,
gink,
cluck,
clunk,
ding-dong,
dingbat,
wiener,
weeny,
dip,
simp,
spud,
coot,
Origin:
early 19th century: abbreviation of dialect sapskull ‘person with a head like sapwood’, from sap1 (in the sense ‘sapwood’) + skull.
sap
noun
• a bludgeon or club.
sap
verb
• hit with a bludgeon or club.
• "it was nice to see someone else get sapped for a change"
Origin:
late 19th century (as a noun): abbreviation of sapling (from which such a club was originally made).
