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mop

(mŏp)

1. A household implement made of absorbent material attached to a typically long handle and used for washing, dusting, or drying floors.

2. A loosely tangled bunch or mass: a mop of unruly hair.

v. mopped, mop·ping, mops

v.tr.

To wash or wipe with or as if with a mop: mopped the hallway; mopping the spilled water; mopped her forehead with a towel.

v.intr.

To use a mop to wash or dry surfaces: mopped along the baseboards.

Phrasal Verb:

mop up

1. To clear (an area) of remaining enemy troops after a victory.

2. Informal To perform the minor tasks that conclude a project or an activity.

[Early Modern English map, mop, probably shortening of Middle English mappel, ultimately (perhaps via Medieval Latin mappula, table cloth) from Latin mappa, towel, cloth; see MAP.]

mopper n.

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.

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