Dictionary

sapless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈsæpləs/ (US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sap-der. Proto-West Germanic *sap Old English sæp Middle English sap English sap Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less English sapless From sap + -less.

Meanings

1. (of a plant) Lacking in sap.
   • […] Thou For whose path the Atlantic’s level powers Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear The sapless foliage of the ocean, know Thy voice, and suddenly grow grey with fear, And tremble to despoil themselves: O, hear! 1819 (date written), Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind”, in Prometheus Unbound […], London: C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier […], published 1820, →OCLC, part III, stanza III, pages 190-191:
   • Below, all their earthward-looking branches are sapless and shattered, splintered by the weight of many winters’ snows; above, they are still green and full of life, but their summits overtop all the deciduous trees around them, and in their companionship with heaven they are alone. 1861, Oliver Wendell Holmes, chapter 13, in Elsie Venner, volume I, Boston: Ticknor & Fields, page 234:
2. (figuratively, of a person etc.) Lacking vivacity.
   • O young John Talbot! I did send for thee To tutor thee in stratagems of war, That Talbot’s name might be in thee revived When sapless age and weak unable limbs Should bring thy father to his drooping chair. 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:
   • O smooth my rugged heart, and there Engrave thy rev’rend Law and fear: Or make a new one, since the old Is saplesse grown, And a much fitter stone To hide my dust, then thee to hold. 1638, George Herbert, “Nature”, in [Nicholas Ferrar], editor, The Temple. Sacred Poems, and Private Ejaculations, 5th edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] T[homas] Buck, and R[oger] Daniel, printers to the Universitie of Cambridge, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

saplessness