Definition
nounThe juice of plants of any kind, especially the ascending and descending juices or circulating fluid essential to nutrition.
nounThe sapwood, or alburnum, of a tree.
Sentence Examples
The wise teacher knew about the sap.
Poor sap. He can't tell when he's being taken advantage of.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English sap, from Old English sæp (“juice, sap”), from Proto-West Germanic *sap (“sap, juice”) (compare Dutch sap, German Saft, Icelandic safi), from Proto-Indo-European *sab-, *sap- (“to taste”) (compare Welsh syb-wydd (“fir”), Latin sapa (“must, new wine”), Russian со́пли (sópli, “snivel”), Old Armenian համ (ham, “taste”), Avestan 𐬬𐬌-𐬱𐬁𐬞𐬀 (vi-šāpa, “having poisonous juices”), Sanskrit सबर् (sabar, “juice, nectar”)). More at sage.
sap (“naive person”) is a clipping of sapskull (literally “person with sap in their skull”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In the preceding centuries the Ashkenazic Synagogue song had been Germanized to a degree that jeopardized not only its distinctive Jewishness but its very existence. In Eastern Europe, on the other hand, the ever-renewed Oriental sap penetrated also into the song."
— 1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development, page 183:
""Or trying to reproduce it."
"The Mafia wouldn't do that."
"Don't be a sap," Hiro says. "Of course they would."
Y.T. seems miffed at Hiro."
— 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 234:
"She said I'm such a sap, I'm such a jerk / Can't I ever forget the way that we are / Spend all your time with your eyes on the ground / Looking for the stars"
— 1997, “Don't Look Down”, in Curtains, performed by Tindersticks:
"Somewhat he knoweth of art magical, yet useth not that art; for it sappeth the life and strength, nor is it held worthy that a Demon should put trust in that art, but rather in his own might and main."
— 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 6:
"While Tuchel will be delighted with the way his players responded, there will be concern at how much the energy-sapping 120 minutes has taken out of them."
— 2022 April 12, Neil Johnston, “Real Madrid 2-3 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport: