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sap1
/sap/, n., v., sapped, sapping.n.1. the juice or vital circulating fluid of a plant, esp. of a woody plant.2. any vital body fluid.3. energy; vitality.4. sapwood.5. Slang. a fool; dupe.6. Metall. soft metal at the core of a bar of blister steel.v.t.7. to drain the sap from.sap2/sap/, n., v., sapped, sapping.n.1. Fort. a deep, narrow trench constructed so as to form an approach to a besieged place or an enemy's position.v.t.2. Fort.a. to approach (a besieged place or an enemy position) by means of deep, narrow trenches protected by gabions or parapets.3. to undermine; weaken or destroy insidiously.v.i.4. Fort. to dig a sap.[1585-95; < F sape (n.), deriv. of saper to dig a trench < It zappare, a military term, based on zappa hoe (cf. dial. It zappo he-goat < ?)]
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▪ plant physiologywatery fluid of plants. Cell sap is a fluid found in the vacuoles (small cavities) of the living cell; it contains variable amounts of food and waste materials, inorganic salts, and nitrogenous compounds. Xylem sap carries soil nutrients (e.g., dissolved minerals) from the root system to the leaves; the water is then lost through transpiration. Maple sap is xylem sap, containing some sugar in late winter. Phloem, or sieve-tube, sap is the fluid carrying sugar from leaves to other parts of the plant in the summer. See also cohesion hypothesis.* * *
Universalium. 2010.