Where does “saper” come from?

saper (French) comes from French sape, from Old French sappe, from Latin sappa — a sort of mattock.

saper (French): to sap, do sapping work on; to erode, wear down,...

Definitions

  1. to sap, do sapping work on; to erode, wear down,...

Ancestry of “saper”, step by step

saper traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French sape

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchsapea small scythe; hoe, mattock; fashion, style
2Old Frenchsappe—
3Latinsappaa sort of mattock

via Italian zappare

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1ItalianzappareTo hoe
2Italianzappaan agricultural implement, such as a hoe;...

Words derived from “saper”

Every word from Latin sappa →