soap

A2 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /soʊp/ UK /səʊp/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like sop /ɑ/ vs /oʊ/

Freq #3786

Meanings

1

noun
A substance used with water for washing and cleaning the body or things.

Wash your hands with soap and warm water.
2

verb
To rub soap onto something while washing it.

He soaped his hands carefully before rinsing them.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms soapedsoapingsoaps

Derived forms docusoaphandsoapnonsoapresoapsandsoapsoap-dodgingsoap-operaticsoapballsoapbarksoapberrysoapbloomsoapbox

Related forms saponificationshampoosoaperwash-ball

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

soap dispenser
a container that releases measured amounts of liquid soap

Noun + noun

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *seyb-? Proto-Germanic *saipǭ Proto-West Germanic *saipā Old English sāpe Middle English sope English soap From Middle English sope, sape, from Old English sāpe (“soap, salve”), from Proto-West Germanic *saipā, from Proto-Germanic *saipǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *seyb-, *seyp- (“to pour out, drip, trickle, strain”). Cognate with Scots saip, sape (“soap”), Saterland Frisian Seepe (“soap”), West Frisian sjippe (“soap”), Dutch zeep (“soap”), German Low German Seep (“soap”), German Seife (“soap”), Danish sæbe (“soap”), Swedish såpa (“soap”), Norwegian Bokmål såp…

sope Middle English sāpe Old English *saipā Proto-West Germanic *saipǭ Proto-Germanic *seyb- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# soap

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /soʊp/
**IPA (UK):** /səʊp/
**Frequency rank:** 3786

## Meanings
1. A substance used with water for washing and cleaning the body or things.
2. To rub soap onto something while washing it.

## Examples
- Wash your hands with soap and warm water.
- He soaped his hands carefully before rinsing them.

## Derived Forms
- docusoap
- handsoap
- nonsoap
- resoap
- sandsoap
- soap-dodging
- soap-operatic
- soapball
- soapbark
- soapberry
- soapbloom
- soapbox

## Related Forms
- saponification
- shampoo
- soaper
- wash-ball

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sope
- Root: sāpe
- Root: *saipā
- Root: *saipǭ
- Root: *seyb-

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *seyb-? Proto-Germanic *saipǭ Proto-West Germanic *saipā Old English sāpe Middle English sope English soap From Middle English sope, sape, from Old English sāpe (“soap, salve”), from Proto-West Germanic *saipā, from Proto-Germanic *saipǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *seyb-, *seyp- (“to pour out, drip, trickle, strain”). Cognate with Scots saip, sape (“soap”), Saterland Frisian Seepe (“soap”), West Frisian sjippe (“soap”), Dutch zeep (“soap”), German Low German Seep (“soap”), German Seife (“soap”), Danish sæbe (“soap”), Swedish såpa (“soap”), Norwegian Bokmål såp…

## AI Etymology
The etymological chain for soap runs Proto-Indo-European *seyb-? Proto-Germanic *saipǭ Proto-West Germanic *saipā Old English sāpe Middle English sope English soap From Middle English sope, sape, from Old English sāpe (“soap, salve”), from Proto-West Germanic *saipā, from Proto-Germanic *saipǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *seyb-, *seyp- (“to pour out, drip, trickle, strain”). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English sope, Old English sāpe, Proto-West Germanic *saipā, Proto-Germanic *saipǭ, Proto-Indo-European *seyb-. In current use it includes senses such as A substance used with water for washing and cleaning the body or things and To rub soap onto something while washing it.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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