SAP

n. & v. --n. 1 the vital juice circulating in plants. 2 vigour; vitality. 3 = SAPWOOD. 4 US sl. a bludgeon (orig. one made from a sapling). --v.tr. (sapped, sapping) 1 drain or dry (wood) of sap. 2 exhaust the vigour of (my energy had been sapped by disappointment). 3 remove the sapwood from (a log). 4 US sl. hit with a sap. øsap-green n. 1 the pigment made from buckthorn berries. 2 the colour of this. --adj. of this colour. øøsapful adj. sapless adj. [OE sóp prob. f. Gmc]