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slop 1 (slŏp)
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n.
1. Spilled or splashed liquid.
2. Soft mud or slush.
3. Unappetizing watery food or soup.
4. often slops Waste food used to feed pigs or other animals; swill.
5. often slops Mash remaining after alcohol distillation.
6. often slops Human excrement.
7. Repulsively effusive writing or speech; drivel.
v. slopped, slop·ping, slops
v.intr.
1. To be spilled or splashed: Suds slopped over the rim of the washtub.
2. To spill over; overflow.
3. To walk heavily or messily in or as if in mud; plod: "He slopped along in broken slippers, hands in pockets, whistling" (Alan Sillitoe).
4. To express oneself effusively; gush.
v.tr.
1. To spill (liquid).
2. To spill liquid on.
3. To serve unappetizingly or clumsily; dish out: slopped some lasagna onto his plate.
4. To feed slops to (animals): slopped the hogs.

[Middle English sloppe, a muddy place, perhaps from Old English *sloppe, dung, slime; see sleubh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
slop 2 (slŏp)
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n.
1. slops Articles of clothing and bedding issued or sold to sailors.
2. slops Short full trousers worn in the 16th century.
3. A loose outer garment, such as a smock or overalls.
4. slops Chiefly British Cheap, ready-made garments.

[Middle English sloppe, a kind of garment, from Old English -slop (in oferslop, surplice); see sleubh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.