Added 9 October 2026
soap
/soʊp/ noun
In Latin: sāpō Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about soap at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A metallic salt derived from a fatty acid, commonly used in cleaning products.
-
Some other substance, often a detergent or another surfactant, able to mix with both oil and water, used for cleaning.
I tried washing my hands with soap, but the stain wouldn't go away.
- Money, specially when used as a bribe.
verb
noun
Origin
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 såpe (“soap”), Norwegian Nynorsk såpe (“soap”), Faroese sápa (“soap”), Icelandic sápa (“soap”), Finnish saippua (“soap”), Finnish suopa (“soft soap”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)