sop

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a concession or bribe given to pacify or appease someone

   He offered a sop to the critics by promising to review the policy.

2. 2
   noun

   a piece of food, especially bread, used to soak up liquid

   She dipped a sop of bread into the gravy.

3. 3
   noun

   a trivial gift or gesture (informal)

   The small bonus was just a sop to keep the staff quiet.

From Proto-Germanic *sup- ('to soak'), via Old English sopp / Old Norse soppa ('bread soaked in liquid') and Middle English soppe (14th c.) into Modern English sop ('a piece of bread soaked in liquid', and figuratively 'a concession given to appease').

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