English
sap
Sap comes from Old English sæp ‘juice, sap’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sap-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sap-1reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sap1‘sap, juice’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sæp1‘juice, sap’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sap1
- Englishearliest quotation 1922sap1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English sap
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1922, Eric Rücker Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance: “Somewhat he knoweth of art magical, yet useth not…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sap-Wiktionary, English sapreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sapWiktionary, English sap‘sap, juice’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sæpWiktionary, English sap‘juice, sap’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sapWiktionary, English sap
- Englishearliest quotation 1922sapWiktionary, English sap. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1922, Eric Rücker Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance: “Somewhat he knoweth of art magical, yet useth not…”
Linked words
through Old English sæp ‘juice, sap’
through Middle English sap
Another origin of sap
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsappa‘sort of mattock’earlier origin unknown
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sappe
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsape‘sort of scythe’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsaper‘to harvest or reap forage or cereals with a small scythe’
- Englishtodaysap
The sense evolution of from “subvert by digging” to “weaken” was influenced by the sense above “drain wood of sap” as trench warfare receded from public conscience.
Today it means
noun The juice of plants of any kind, especially the ascending and descending juices or circulating fluid essential to nutrition.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “sap”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sap- / sap