The Meaning of Sop: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of sop? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word sop, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What does the word sop mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary, American Heritage, and the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word sop can be used as a noun or a verb. As a noun, sop (pl. sops) is something that is given to a person that is small or unimportant, that is used to pacify the person or prevent them from causing trouble or getting angry. In American English, it also refers to a piece of food soaked in a liquid, like bread soaked in milk or gravy, or a bribe. As an intr. verb, the word sop means to absorb, dip, soak, saturate or steep with liquid. The pronunciation of sop is sɒp.

According to The Free Dictionary, SOP is also an acronym with a plethora of different definitions. If you decide to use one of these SOP abbreviations, make sure that your provide the reader or listener with the proper context so that they can discern the correct meaning. This should be done with any acronym or abbreviation that has more than one potential definition. 

  •  Statement Of Purpose
  •  System-On-Package
  •  Sex on Phone
  •  Stock Option Price
  •  Spacecraft Operation Procedure
  •  Start of Production
  •  Soprano
  •  Seagrass Outreach Partnership
  •  Service of Process
  •  Standard of Procedure (AKA standard procedure)
  •  SOP Document
  •  Shown on Plans (blueprints)
  •  Strategic Operating Platform
  •  Shared Object Parser (Macromedia)
  •  Sensory Organ Precursors
  •  Scholarship Opportunities Program
  •  Significant Other Person
  •  Secretaria de Obras Publicas
  •  Surgical Oncology Program (Canada)
  •  Short Optical Pulse
  •  Sterile Ophthalmic Preparation
  •  Student Operated Press
  •  Service Offering Portfolio
  •  Standard Operating Policies
  •  Seat of Pants
  •  Solicitation of Proposals (various organizations)
  •  Sum of Products (Boolean expressions and logic gates)
  •  Síndrome del Ovario Poliquistico (medical)
  •  School Organisation Plan (UK education)
  •  Stupid Operating Procedures
  •  Study Organization Plan
  •  Super-Operator (IRC channels)
  •  State Of Play
  •  Ship Operational Program
  •  Super Operator
  •  Subsystem Operating Program (NASA, CEV Space Capsule)
  •  Sense of Place
  •  Service Orthodoxe de Presse
  •  Senior Outreach Program (various locations)
  •  Statement Of Position
  •  Société Odontologique de Paris (French: Paris Odontology Society)
  •  Solid Object Printing
  •  Space Operations Squadron (USAF)
  •  Special Operations Program
  •  Syndicat des Opérateurs Postaux (French: Union of Postal Operators)
  •  Start Of Production (automobile industry)
  •  Starfire Optical Range
  •  Son of Perdition (Christianity)
  •  Service Oriented Programming (AMIS)
  •  Small Outline Package
  •  Streaked Optical Pyrometry
  •  Standard of Practice
  •  State of Practice (various organizations)
  •  Service Object Pair
  •  Survey of Pakistan (est. 1947)
  •  Separation of Powers
  •  Site Operating Plan
  •  State Operating Permit (various locations)
  •  Standing Operating Procedure
  •  Sobrang Ok Pare (Philippine TV program)
  •  Shoot-Out Points (hockey standings)
  •  School of Pharmacy
  •  Scope of Practice (EMS)
  •  System Operating Process
  •  Sulfate of Potash (potassium sulfate)
  •  Segment Originators PLA (Plain Language Address)
  •  String of Purls (blog and shop; Omaha, NE)
  •  Subject Oriented Programming
  •  Spawn of Possession (band)
  •  Server Operator
  •  Safe Operating Procedure
  •  Summary of Progress (education; various locations)
  •  Standard Operating Power
  •  System Operations Panel
  •  Street Opening Permit (various locations)
  •  Stock Option Plan
  •  System.out.println (Java)
  •  State of the Parks Report (Canada)
  •  Standard of Perfection (American Poultry Association)
  •  Sprint Online Presenter
  •  Solder on Pad (semiconductor process)
  •  Sorted Office Paper
  •  Service Order Processing
  •  Start of Packet
  •  Start of Project
  •  Sales Operation Planning
  •  Setting Out Point (construction)
  •  Subject-Oriented Programming
  •  Sisters of Providence (various locations)
  •  Statement of Participation
  •  Standards of Payments
  •  Senza Obbligo di Prescrizione (Italian: Over The Counter)
  •  Standard Operating Platform (Best Buy)
  •  System Optimization Plan
  •  Standard Operational Procedure
  •  Science Operations Plan
  •  Secure Online Payment
  •  Signal Output Port (computing)
  •  Son of Peter (band)
  •  Seal Oil Pump
  •  Seeds of Peace
  •  Security Operating Procedures
  •  Stuck Open
  •  Secondary Oxygen Pack (US NASA)
  •  Source Open Failure Mode
  •  Standards of Participation (California)
  •  Security of Payments
  •  Southern Pines, NC, USA – Pinehurst (Airport Code)
  •  Same Origin Policy (browser model)
  •  Standard Operating Procedure (usually in reference to an educator’s standard operating procedure)
  •  Service Oriented Process
  •  Safe Operating Practice
  •  Sequential Ordering Problem
  •  Support Oriented Processes (quality management)
  •  Sexual Offender Program
  •  Space-based Observation Panel
  •  Senior Officer Present
  •  Stock Ownership Plan (various organizations)
  •  Statement of Principle (various locations)
  •  Service Object Pair (digital imaging)
  •  Sons of the Patriots (gaming clan)
  •  System Operating Procedures
  •  Streaming Over P2P (Peer to Peer)
  •  State of Polarization
  •  Sub Operator
  •  Stochastic Orthogonal Polynomial (mathematics)
  •  School of Psychology
  •  Student Orientation Program (various schools)
  •  Special Order Parts (materials procurement)
  •  Sum of the Parts (financial valuation method)
  •  Standards of Performance
  •  Sales Order Processing

What is the origin of the word sop?

According to Etymonline, the word sop (sɑːp) comes from the Old English sopp, which referred to bread soaked in some liquid. This comes from the Old english soppecuppe, which was a cup into which sops were put. This was a staple of medieval cuisine in the 18th century. This comes from the Proto-Germanic supp, which is related to the Old English verb suppan and sup. These were reinforced by the Old French soupe, which gave us the English soup.This is likely related to the Old High German sopfa milk, the Old Norse soppa soup, the Dutch sop, and others. Using the word sop to refer to something given to appease comes from the 1660s and is a reference to the sops given by the Sibyl to Cerberus in the Aeneid and Aeneas. One can add the suffixes ed, y, and ing to make the different tenses of the verb sop in sopped and sopping, or soppy (adj.)

Overall, the word sop refers to smaller pieces or a piece of solid food that is dipped into a liquid food, sauces, or anything of a liquid consistency like a piece of bread into broth at diners, or toast into french onion soup at elaborate feasts. As a verb, the word sop means to pour liquid or absorb. SOP is also a shorthand for many different things – one should use the full meaning of SOPs since there are so many definitions.

Sources:

  1. SOP – What does SOP stand for? | The Free Dictionary 
  2. sop | Origin and meaning of sop | Online Etymology Dictionary 
  3. Sop definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary