Sapping

Sapping
Sap Sap, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sapped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sapping}.] [F. saper (cf. Sp. zapar, It. zapare), fr. sape a sort of scythe, LL. sappa a sort of mattock.] 1. To subvert by digging or wearing away; to mine; to undermine; to destroy the foundation of. [1913 Webster]

Nor safe their dwellings were, for sapped by floods, Their houses fell upon their household gods. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

2. (Mil.) To pierce with saps. [1913 Webster]

3. To make unstable or infirm; to unsettle; to weaken. [1913 Webster]

Ring out the grief that saps the mind. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sapping — Union troops digging a sap with a sap roller on Morris Island, 1863 …   Wikipedia

  • sapping — sæp n. juice of a plant, fluid which circulates through a plant; essential body fluid (such as blood); vigor, health, vitality; fool, gullible person (Slang); deep tunnel or trench leading to an enemy s fort (Military) v. remove sap, drain sap;… …   English contemporary dictionary

  • sapping — noun Geography undercut by water or glacial action. → sap someone of …   English new terms dictionary

  • Sapping — ♦ Undermining, as of a castle wall. (Gies, Joseph and Francis. Life in a Medieval Castle, 226) Related terms: Mine …   Medieval glossary

  • SAPPING — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Groundwater sapping — Scientists believe that groundwater sapping created these gullies in Noachis Terra on Mars. NASA image …   Wikipedia

  • basal sapping —   the undercutting and retreat of a slope caused when erosion and/or weathering are concentrated at its base …   Geography glossary

  • valley — valleylike, adj. /val ee/, n., pl. valleys. 1. an elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains, esp. one following the course of a stream. 2. an extensive, more or less flat, and relatively low region drained by a great river system …   Universalium

  • Coprates quadrangle — The Coprates quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Coprates quadrangle is also referred to as MC 18 (Mars Chart 18).[1] The Coprates… …   Wikipedia

  • Mining (military) — Explosion of the mine beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt on the Western Front during World War I (July 1 1916). Photo by Ernest Brooks Mining, landmining or undermining is a siege method which has been used since antiquity against a walled city,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”