sap

Everyday

1. Sap is the liquid inside plants and trees that carries water and food around them. tree →
2. (verb) To sap your strength or energy is to slowly make you weaker or more tired. tree →
3. (informal, old) A silly person who is easily tricked. tree →

In the lessons

Used in science lessons about plants: sap moves through the stem. In everyday life: maple syrup is made from maple tree sap; sticky sap on your hands. Safety: some plant sap irritates skin. Phrase: "sap someone's energy".

Examples

• Maple syrup is made from tree sap. tree →
• Sticky sap ran down the pine tree. tree →
• Sap carries water and food through the plant. tree →
• The heat sapped our energy. tree →
• My hands were covered in sap after climbing. tree →
• Some plants have sap that can burn your skin, so don't touch them. tree →
• The long walk sapped his strength. tree →
• Within the garden grew large trees, full of sap; but whether they were palm-trees or gigantic water-plants, the prince knew not. tree →

Note

Noun "sap" is uncountable. Verb doubles the p: sapped, sapping.

In Jewish tradition

The Psalms use sap for life and freshness, saying the righteous stay full of sap even in old age, while David's sap dries when he hides his sin.

Interpretation. Tradition reads the full sap of old age as a promise that the righteous stay lively in spirit, and the dry sap as the pain of unconfessed wrongdoing.

Examples

• They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and richness; (Writings PSA.92.15, JPS 1917) tree →
• For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my sap was turned as in the droughts of summer. (Writings PSA.32.4, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Noun "sap" is uncountable. Verb doubles the p: sapped, sapping.