▪ I. sop, n.1
(sɒp)
Also 1, 7 sopp, 4 (9 dial.) zop, 4–5, 7 sope, 4–7 soppe; 8– Sc. (pl.) saps.
[OE. sopp, sop-, app. f. the weak grade of s{uacu}pan sup v.1 In ME. prob. reinforced by the synonymous OF. sope, soupe (see soup n.), and in later senses partly from sop v.
The exact relationship of the OE. to the OF. word is not clear. Cf. also MDu. soppe, zoppe (WFlem. zoppe), sop, ON. soppa (a foreign word), in the same sense.]
1. A piece of bread or the like dipped or steeped in water, wine, etc., before being eaten or cooked.
| a 1100 in Napier O.E. Glosses lvi. 10 Offulam, sopp. 1340 Ayenb. 107 Ase is a zop of hot bryead huanne me hit poteþ in-to wyn. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andrew) 375 Þane gaf he ilkane a sope with his hand of his awne cope. c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 53 Ȝet sugurt soppes I nyl forȝete, Þou tost shyves of gode manchete [etc.]. c 1450 Two Cookery Bks. 90 Then cast the same licour vppon þe Soppes, and serue hit forthe fore a good potage. 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop v. xii, Euery daye the sayd dogge hadde soppes of brede, and of drye breed he hadde ynough. 1520 Calisto & Melib. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 79 With a toast in wine by the fire I could sit With two dozen sops the colic to quell. 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1860) 9 Go to then, and take salt to your soppes, lest sorrow attaint them. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 117 The fairest Weomen will dine with the same [wine], and a sop of bread dipped in it. a 1632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. ii. v. (1642) 68 He would set before his guests onely..two sops and a few apples. 1697 Dryden æneid vi. 567 The prudent Sibyl had before prepar'd A sop, in honey steep'd. 1801 Southey St. Patrick's Purgatory ii, Three sops were brought of bread and wine. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss., Sop, a piece of bread soaked in dripping under the roast. 1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds 416 Sops, bread broken preparatory to being added to any liquid, or when so added. |
| attrib. a 1000 in Thorpe Dipl. Angl. Sax. (1865) 527 Anæ soppcuppan an þrym pundan. 1012 Ibid. 553 Ic ann minæn cinæhlafordæ..anræ sopcuppan. |
| fig. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 175 If he soupeth, ette but a soppe of spera-in-deo. 1631 Massinger Believe as You List iv. iii, Yf there bee a Cerberus, yf I serve not To make three sopps for his three heads,..The cur is divelishe hungrie. |
† b. to eat (or take) a sop, to make a slight repast. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 7547 Preyenge..Þat he wolde..herberwe him wyþ, A day to ete a sop, & drynke, & se his werk. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1135 Þe leue lorde..Ete a sop hastyly, when he hade herde masse. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 7932 Than thei ȝede and toke a sop, Thei ete a sop, and afftir dranke. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xii. 39 (Harl. MS.), If þat ȝe woll voche-safe to take a soppe with me. |
c. Const. in (or † of) the liquid in which the bread, etc., is dipped or steeped.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 334 (Harl.), Wel loved he in the morn a sop of [v.r. in] wyn. ― Merch. T. 631 Thanne he taketh a sope in fyne clarree. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 28 She made euery day dresse..for hem disshes withe soppes of mylke. c 1491 Chast. Goddes Chyld. 13 Hit is nede that he take a soppe in ale or in wine before mete. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 363 Suche as wold, toke a sop in wine. a 1533 ― Huon xiv. 38 They toke a soppe of wyne. 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iii. Law 899 Preferring far, Red-Herrings, Rashers, and (some) sops in Tar. 1832 W. Stephenson Gateshead Local Poems 95 When at the fire they're roasting, We're all to have sops in the grease. |
d. sop in the pan, a piece of bread soaked in the dripping from roasting meat. Also fig.
| 1621 Fletcher Pilgrim iii. vi, You shall have no more sops i' th' pan else, nor no Porridge. 1786 A. M. Bennett Juvenile Indiscr. I. 61 A plate of toast and grease, vulgarly called sop in the pan. 1814 Scott Wav. xxv, This he considered as a mere sop in the pan to stay the appetite of Edward's curiosity. |
e. A dish composed of soaked bread.
| 1845 Youatt Dog ii. 36 Milk at first, and afterwards milk and sop alternately, may be used. 1892 P. H. Emerson Son of Fens xxxii. 334 ‘What are you going to ha' for breakfast this morning?’ mother ax him. ‘A baisin of sop.’ |
2. transf. and fig. † a. Used to denote something of small value. Obs.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 124 [He] hath..sette alle sciences at a soppe saue loue one. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 2261 Tushe, these maters that ye moue are but soppys in ale. |
† b. Used of persons in respect of some pervading quality or property. Obs.
| c 1480 Henryson Test. Cres. 407 O sop of sorrow, sonken into cair! O Catiue Creisseid! c 1550 Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 104 Thair was the sop of science, I suppois: Thair was the flour of fairheid [etc.]. 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. ii. 35 For though it be night, yet the Moone shines, Ile make a sop oth' Moonshine of you. |
c. A dull or foolish fellow; a milksop.
| a 1625 Fletcher & Mass. Elder Brother iv. i, Ye have no more spirit than three sleepy sops. 1859 Slang Dict. 58 Sop, a soft or foolish man. |
d. A person or thing thoroughly soaked or steeped in some way.
| 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iv. 162 Throw him into the Malmesey-Butte in the next roome... O excellent deuice; and make a sop of him. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 113 The bounded Waters Should..make a soppe of all this solid Globe. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 361 Away he goes to make..a sop in the briny broth of Ocean. |
e. Something given to appease or pacify the recipient; a bribe.
An allusion to the sop given to Cerberus by æneas: see Cerberus.
| 1665 Howard Committee iv. i, Do you want some Fees? I'le perish in a dungeon before I'le consume with throwing Sops to such Curs. 1725 Swift Corr. Wks. 1841 II. 576, I had lately a letter without a name, telling me that I have got a sop to hold my tongue. 1845 Bright Sp., Irel. 16 Apr. (1876) 150 This bill..is a sop given to the priests. 1873 Spencer Stud. Sociol. xi. 288, I do not want these sops and gratuities. 1894 Times (weekly ed.) 31 Aug. 691/3 This lavish expenditure..is intended as a sop to the disaffected. |
3. A tuft of wet green grass amongst hay.
| 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 33 The many greene soppes that are in it will bee a meanes to make it..moulde in the cocke. a 1743 Relph Misc. Poems (1747) 13 A finer hay⁓day seer was never seen; The greenish sops already luik less green. 1828– in dial. glossaries (Cumbld., Yks., Lancs., etc.). 1863 Mrs. Toogood Spec. Yorksh. Dial. (MS.), The hay is not in very good order; there are sops in it. |
4. A copious collection or accumulation of some liquid; soppy or soaked state or condition.
| 1700 Rector's Bk. Clayworth (1910) 132 Jan. 20{supt}{suph}, a great sop of wett on y⊇ ground. 1856 Hawthorne Eng. Note-bks. (1879) II. 38 A great pool and sop of blood. |
b. A thorough wetting or soaking.
| 1729 Dulcinead 5 One rainy Day t' avoid a Sop, In Church young J―s his Head did pop. |
5. In the names of certain fruits: (see sour-, sugar-, and sweet-sop). Also attrib.
| c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. vii. lxii, It grows on a sort of Jack or Sop Tree call'd in Luzone Rhymay. |
6. A sopper or dipper. rare—1.
| 1796 Morse Amer. Geogr. I. 281 The English word that conveys the proper meaning of Tunkers is Sops or Dippers. |
▪ II. sop, n.2 Now only north. dial.
Also 5 sope, 5–6 soppe.
[perh. a. ON. sopp-r ball.]
† 1. A compact body, troop, or company, esp. of fighting men. Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 47 Samyn in-till a sop held thai. Ibid. vii. 567 Sa did thai all.., Syne in a sop assemblit ar. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1493 Sodanly in a soppe they sette in att ones. c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) ii, After..þei put hem in herdes and in soppes with þe rascaile. c 1450 Merlin xiv. 218 Than thei lepe to horse, and gedered to-geder on a soppe. 1513 Douglas æneid x. vii. 31 Quhar ȝondir sop of men thikkis in a rout. |
2. † a. A cloud of mist or smoke. Obs.
| 1513 Douglas æneid i. vi. 176 Venus with ane sop of mist baith tway, And with ane dirk clud closit round about. Ibid. v. xii. 5 Thai..gan behald The fyre sparkis wp fleand thik fald In a blak sop of reik. |
b. dial. (See quot. 1828.)
| 1828 Carr Craven Gloss., Sops, small, detached clouds hanging on the sides of a mountain, which prognosticate rain. 1866 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Lizzie Lorton I. xii. |
3. A lump or mass of blacklead in the ground.
| 1794 Hutchinson Hist. Cumb. II. 220 [Blacklead] is sometimes found in sops or floats, in a body without branches. 1855 H. Martineau Engl. Lakes 155 ‘Nests’ or ‘sops’ or ‘bellies’ of black lead are found in the greenstone. |
▪ III. † sop, n.3 Sc. Obs.
[Cf. MDu. and WFris. sop, WFlem. zop.]
Sap.
| 1513 Douglas æneid iv. ix. 85 Springand herbis..War socht, and with brasin hukis cuttit sone, To get ther mylky sop and vennom blak. 1595 Duncan App. Etym. (E.D.S.), Vligo, the natural sop. |
▪ IV. sop, v.
(sɒp)
Also 6 soppy, soppe.
[OE. soppian f. sopp sop n.1 Cf. WFris. sopje, MDu. and Du. soppen (WFlem. zoppen) in sense 1; also WFlem. zoppen, Da. dial. soppe, in sense 2 a.]
1. a. trans. To dip, soak, or steep (bread, etc.) in some liquid. Also absol.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 228 Ᵹenim hlaf, ᵹeseoð on gate meolce, soppiᵹe on suþerne. |
| a 1529 Skelton E. Rummyng 558 This ale, sayde she, is noppy, Let vs syppe and soppy, And not spyll a droppy. 1570 Levins Manip. 169/20 To soppe, offam intingere. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 28/1 We must first let him suppe in a soft dressed egge, or a morsell of breade sopped in wyne. 1610 G. Fletcher Christ's Vict. ii. xi, His cheekes as snowie apples, sop't in wine, Had their red roses quencht with lilies white. 1629 Massinger Picture v. i, For a mess of porridge Well sopped with a bunch of radish and a carrot, I would sell my barony. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 209, I..let him see me..sop my Bread in it. a 1834 Lamb Months Misc. Wks. (1871) 399 Everything..is sopped in claret. 1843 James Forest Days ii, The peasant sat at the table, sopping his bread in the contents of his jug. 1887 Ruskin Præterita II. 174 One might almost as hopelessly have sopped the Matterhorn as the loaf. |
b. To drench with moisture; to soak; also fig., to intoxicate.
| 1682 D'Urfey Butler's Ghost 141 Like Country Vicar,..at a Wedding, or a Fair, Is sooner sopt than any there. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing 391 When a Pressman has taken too much Inck, he is said to Sop the Balls. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. June, The Water is to be supply'd as you find convenient, and no longer, lest it sop your Stem too much. 1788 Marshall Yorksh. I. 310 The covering moist and feeble, and the sod sopt with wet, fall heavy and flat to the ground. 1820 Clare Poems Rural Life (ed. 3) 127 The dews, brush'd off from grass and flowers, Bemoistening sop his harden'd shoes. 1847 Emerson Repr. Men, Montaigne Wks. (Bohn) I. 348 We have been sopped and drugged with the air, with food [etc.]. |
c. To carry away by soaking.
| 1853 Dickens Bleak Ho. ii, An arch of the bridge in the park has been sapped and sopped away. |
d. With up: to soak up, absorb. Also fig.
| 1888 S. O. Addy Gloss. Words Sheffield 229 Come sop up that gravy. 1914 J. Galsworthy Let. in Times 28 Feb. 5/3 The admission or rejection of Tariff Reform, the Disestablishment or preservation of the Welsh Church, I would almost say than the granting or non-granting of Home Rule—questions that sop up ad infinitum the energies, the interest, the time of those we elect and pay to manage our business. a 1922 T. S. Eliot Waste Land Drafts (1971) 5 Blew in to the Opera Exchange, Sopped up some gin. 1951 D. Riesman Individualism Reconsidered in A. W. Loos Religious Faith & World Culture 73 The everpresent threat of war..used as a rationalization to sop up our ‘excessive’ comforts. 1962 S. Carpenter in Into Orbit 57 The nose [of the capsule] would sop up much of the friction we were running into and would become quite warm. 1973 J. G. Farrell Siege of Krishnapur ii. 25 The ladies discovered that while sitting in the boat the hems of their dresses had sopped up a certain amount of bilge water. 1977 A. Carter Passion of New Eve x. 158, I sopped up the sauce from the beans with a hunk of bread. |
2. intr. a. To be, or become, soaking wet.
| 1831 Miss Mitford in The Remembrance 40 Strawberries lay sopping in their beds. |
b. Of moisture: To soak in or through.
| 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xlvii, Sopping and soaking in among the leaves that formed its pillow; oozing down into the boggy ground,..went a dark, dark stain. 1894 ‘Tom Cobbleigh’ (W. Raymond) Sam & Sabina i, The water just sops through the turf. |
3. [From sop n.1] a. intr. To collect sops.
| 1755 Smollett Quix. (1803) II. 139 His necessity is not so great, but that he eats,..though he may feed upon the leavings of the rich, or..go a-sopping, as they term it. |
b. trans. To propitiate; to bribe.
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. ii. v. v, Danton and needy corruptible Patriots are sopped with presents of cash. |
▪ V. sop
obs. pa. tense of sup v.1