sap
$ \mathrm{sap}^1 |sap|
https://gyazo.com/25769d12124c632fe981c4800e49efa6
source: [傷をつけたゴムの木の幹から樹液が滴るGIF画像｜無料GIF画像検索 GIFMAGAZINE 100917]
noun
the fluid, chiefly water with dissolved sugars and mineral salts, that circulates in the vascular system of a plant.
〘植〙 樹液
vigor or energy:
生気, 活気, 活力; 性欲
e.g. the hot, heady days of youth when the sap was rising.
verb (saps, sapping, sapped) with object
gradually weaken or destroy (a person's strength or power):
〈体力･勇気など〉を(徐々に)奪う
e.g. our energy is being sapped by bureaucrats and politicians.
(sap someone of) drain someone of (strength or power):
〖～ A of B〗 A〈人〉からB〈体力など〉を(徐々に)奪う
e.g. her illness had sapped her of energy and life.
DERIVATIVES
sapless |ˈsapləs| adjective
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’.
$ \mathrm{sap}^2 |sap|
noun
historical a tunnel or trench to conceal an assailant's approach to a fortified place.
〘軍〙 (敵陣地に迫る)対壕（たいごう）; 対壕を掘ること.
verb (saps, sapping, sapped) no object historical
dig a sap or saps.
対壕を掘る; 対壕を掘って近づく
with object archaic make insecure by removing the foundations of:
e.g. a crazy building, sapped and undermined by the rats.
with object (often as noun sapping) Geography undercut by water or glacial action.
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’.
$ \mathrm{sap}^3 |sap|
noun informal, chiefly North American
a foolish and gullible person:
｟主に米･くだけて｠ 〖しばしば呼びかけで〗まぬけ, お人よし.
e.g. He fell for it! What a sap!
ORIGIN
early 19th century: abbreviation of dialect sapskull‘person with a head like sapwood’, from sap1 (in the sense ‘sapwood’) + skull.
$ \mathrm{sap}^4 |sap| North American informal
noun
a bludgeon or club.
verb (saps, sapping, sapped) with object
hit with a bludgeon or club.
ORIGIN
late 19th century (as a noun): abbreviation of sapling (from which such a club was originally made).