sop
/sɑp/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.87 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Ellipsis of sop to Cerberus, something given or done to pacify or bribe.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Ellipsis of milksop, a weak, easily frightened or ineffectual person.
Countable; Derogatory; Uncountable
noun
A piece of turf placed in the road as a target for a throw in road bowling.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The bounded Waters, / Should lift their boſomes higher then the Shores, / And make a ſoppe of all this ſolid Globe:"
- "[…]Hee it is to whom I ſhall giue a ſoppe, when I haue dipped it."
- "[…]Sops in Wine, (Quantitie for Quantitie,) inebriate more, than Wine of it ſelfe."
- "Ill Nature, in fine, is not to be Cur’d with a Sop; but on the contrary, Quarrelſome Men, as well as Quarrelſome Currs are worſe for fair Uſage."
- "The suggested petrification of the ship is a sop to gratify Poseidon and compensate him for a concession--the Phaeacians will not be cut off from the sea."
- "That agreement, with its lofty promises of “one country, two systems,” was a fig leaf, as most knew at the time — a sop to Western consciences guilty for condemning the people of Hong Kong to their ultimate fate as wards of Beijing. What is happening today is exactly what was predicted and exactly what Chinese leaders intended. Our outrage, while appropriate, is also embarrassing."
Etymology
From Middle English sop, soppe, sope, from Old English sopa (“sopped bread”), from Proto-Germanic *supô (compare Dutch sop, Old High German sopfa), deverbative of *sūpaną (“to sup”). Doublet of soup; more at sup.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /sɑp/
- British English: /sɒp/