From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Sap \Sap\, verb (used with an object) [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.
Nor safe their dwellings were, for sapped by floods, Their houses fell upon their household gods. --Dryden.
2. (Mil.) To pierce with saps.
3. To make unstable or infirm; to unsettle; to weaken.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind. --Tennyson.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a watery solution of sugars, salts, and minerals that circulates through the vascular system of a plant
2: a person who lacks good judgment [syn: {fool}, {saphead}, {muggins}, {tomfool}]
3: a piece of metal covered by leather with a flexible handle; used for hitting people [syn: {blackjack}, {cosh}]
verb
1: deplete; "exhaust one's savings"; "We quickly played out our strength" [syn: {run down}, {exhaust}, {play out}, {tire}]
2: excavate the earth beneath [also: {sapping}, {sapped}]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
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