sapping

1 definition found

sapping - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sap \Sap\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sapped; p. pr. & vb. n.
     Sapping.] [F. saper (cf. Sp. zapar, It. zapare), fr. sape a
     sort of scythe, LL. sappa a sort of mattock.]
     1. To subvert by digging or wearing away; to mine; to
        undermine; to destroy the foundation of.
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              Nor safe their dwellings were, for sapped by floods,
              Their houses fell upon their household gods.
                                                    --Dryden.
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     2. (Mil.) To pierce with saps.
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     3. To make unstable or infirm; to unsettle; to weaken.
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              Ring out the grief that saps the mind. --Tennyson.
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