mop

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mop"

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mɒp/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /mɑp/
• Rhymes: -ɒp

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English mappe (also as mappel), perhaps borrowed from Walloon mappe (“napkin”), from Latin mappa (“napkin, cloth”). Believed to be from a Semitic source, variously claimed as Phoenician or Punic (the latter by Quintilian). Compare Modern Hebrew מַפָּה (mapá, “a map; a cloth”) (shortened from מַנְפָּה (manpah, “fluttering banner, streaming cloth”)). Doublet of map.

Noun

mop (countable and uncountable, plural mops)

Commercial mops (sense 1)

Starfish mop (sense 8)

1. An implement for washing floors or similar, made of a piece of cloth, or a collection of thrums, or coarse yarn, fastened to a handle.
2. A wash with a mop; the act of mopping.

   He gave the floor a quick mop to soak up the spilt juice.

3. (humorous) A dense head of hair.

   He ran a comb through his mop and hurried out the door.

4. (British, dialect, obsolete) A fair where servants are hired.
5. (African-American Vernacular, MLE, slang) A firearm particularly if it has a large magazine (compare broom, but still can be related to MP)

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:firearm

   • 2021 April 7, M24 (lyrics and music), “Plugged In”, Fumez the Engineer (music)‎^[1], 2:16–2:19:

     Mainstream in this ting but I'm fully on opps
     Got shot with a mop but that boy never dropped

6. (slang, uncountable) Fellatio.
   • 2019, “Laneswitch”, in True 2 Myself, performed by Lil Tjay:

     Had his thot give me mop in the back of my Bimmer

7. (graffiti) A squeezable high-flow paint marker with an extra-wide felt or foam tip.
8. (fishing) An row of ropes dragged along the seabed for catching starfish.
9. (slang) A drunkard.
   • 1931, Folk-say, page 183:

     Left his pa's farm and is now working at the city water works. Some say he's got to drink 'cause he works with blue vitriol and that kind of stuff. He was a drunken mop always.

Derived terms

• all mops and brooms
• mop-and-flop
• mop bucket
• mophead
• mop-headed
• mop squeezer
• mopstick
• mop-up
• mop water
• on the mop
• squeegee mop
• suck the mop
• that's the way the mop flops
• whiting-mop

 

Descendants

• → Canadian French: moppe
• → German: Mopp
• → Spanish: mopa

Translations

implement for washing floors

• Albanian: shtupë (sq) f
• Arabic: مِمْسَحَة f (mimsaḥa)

  Hijazi Arabic: مِمْسَحَة f (mimsaḥa)

  Moroccan Arabic: جفّافة f (jaffāfa)

• Armenian: պոլի փեդ (poli pʻed) (non-standard)
• Basque: lanbas
• Belarusian: шва́бра f (švábra)
• Bulgarian: подочиста́чка f (podočistáčka)
• Catalan: pal de fregar m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 拖把 (zh) (tuōbǎ)

• Czech: mop m
• Dutch: zwabber (nl), dekzwabber (nl) m, mop (nl) m
• Esperanto: ŝvabrilo
• Finnish: moppi (fi)
• French: serpillière (fr) f, (Quebec) vadrouille (fr) f, (Quebec) moppe (fr) f, torchon (fr) (Belgium)
• Galician: fregona (gl) f
• Georgian: შვაბრა (švabra)
• German: (for dry mopping) Mopp (de) m; (for wet mopping) Wischmopp (de) m; (with fibres) Schrubber (de) m; (with a cloth) Aufnehmer (de) m (regional)
• Greek: σφουγγαρίστρα (el) f (sfoungarístra)
• Hebrew: סְחָבָה (he) f (skhavá)
• Hungarian: felmosórongy (hu), felmosó (hu), mop (hu)
• Icelandic: moppa (is) f, þvegill (is) m
• Ido: swabro (io)
• Irish: mapa m, strailleán m
• Italian: lavapavimenti m, spazzolone m, scopino (it) m
• Japanese: モップ (ja) (moppu)
• Korean: 대걸레 (ko) (daegeolle), 자루 걸레 (jaru geolle)
• Maori: mapu
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mopp m

  Nynorsk: mopp m

• Old English: please add this translation if you can
• Oromo: foksoo
• Persian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: mop (pl) m
• Portuguese: esfregão (pt) m
• Russian: шва́бра (ru) f (švábra)
• Scottish Gaelic: sguab f
• Spanish: chascona (es) f (Chile), coleto (es) m (Venezuela, especially colloquial usage), fregona (es) f (Spain), lampazo (es) m (Argentina, Nicaragua, Northwestern Venezuela), mapo (es) m (Puerto Rico), mechudo m (Mexico), mocho (es) m (Eastern Spain), mopa (es) f (Venezuela, especially commercial usage), palo de trapear m (Cuba), suape m (Dominican Republic), trapeador (es) m (Central America, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru), trapero (es) m (Colombia), palopiso m (Costa Rica)
• Swedish: mopp (sv) c
• Tagalog: lampaso
• Thai: ไม้ถูบ้าน (th) (máai tŏo bâan)
• Turkish: paspas (tr), mop (tr)
• Ukrainian: шва́бра f (švábra)
• Vietnamese: cán lau nhà
• Walloon: loke a rlocter (wa) f, drap d' måjhon (wa) m, wite (wa) f, såpire (wa) f
• Welsh: mop m

a grimace

• Catalan: ganyota f
• French: grimace (fr) f
• Hungarian: grimasz (hu), fintor (hu)
• Polish: grymas (pl) m

head of hair

• Catalan: xolla (ca) f
• Finnish: hiuskuontalo
• French: tignasse (fr) f
• Hungarian: hajtincs (hu), hajcsomó (hu)
• Irish: straille m, stoth m
• Italian: zazzera (it) f

References

• (drunkard): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary

Verb

mop (third-person singular simple present mops, present participle mopping, simple past and past participle mopped)

1. (transitive) To rub, scrub, clean or wipe with a mop, or as if with a mop.

   to mop (or scrub) a floor

   to mop one's face with a handkerchief

2. (US, slang) To shoplift.
   • 2013, Martha Gever, Pratibha Parmar, John Greyson, Queer Looks, page 111:

     By “mopping” (stealing) the clothes and accessories necessary to effect their look, or by buying breasts, reconstructed noses, lifted chins, and female genitals, the children turn traditional ideas of labor around: […]

Derived terms

• mop the floor with someone
• mop up

 

Translations

to rub, scrub, clean or wipe with a mop, or as if with a mop

• Bulgarian: бърша с моп (bǎrša s mop)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 拖 (to¹)

• Esperanto: ŝvabri (eo)
• Finnish: mopata (fi), luututa (fi)
• French: serpiller (fr)
• German: moppen (de), nass wischen
• Greek: σφουγγαρίζω (el) (sfoungarízo)
• Hungarian: felmos (hu), feltöröl (hu), felsúrol (hu)
• Icelandic: skúra, moppa (is), skrúbba, þvo (is)
• Ido: swabragar (io)
• Italian: lavare (it), ripulire (it), dare lo spazzolone, ripassare con lo spazzolone
• Maori: mapu
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: mopp
• Spanish: fregar (es)
• Swahili: deki (sw)
• Swedish: moppa (sv)
• Turkish: paspaslamak (tr), paspas atmak, paspas çekmek

Etymology 2

From Middle English moppe (“fool, simpleton; derisive gesture; child, baby, doll”), of obscure origin, but compare Proto-West Germanic *mauwu (“pout, protruding lip”).

Compare Low German mop, mops (“simpleton; pugnosed dog”), Dutch mop, mops (“pugnosed dog”), and the verb mope.

Noun

mop (plural mops)

2. (British, dialect, obsolete) The young of any animal.
3. (British, dialect, obsolete) A young girl; a moppet.
4. A made-up face; a grimace.
   • c. 1621, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The Pilgrim”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act IV, scene ii:

     What mops and mowes it makes! --

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     Before you can say 'Come' and 'Go,'
     And breathe twice; and cry 'so, so,'
     Each one, tripping on his toe,
     Will be here with mop and mow.

Verb

mop (third-person singular simple present mops, present participle mopping, simple past and past participle mopped)

1. (intransitive) To make a wry expression with the mouth.
   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     Flibbertigibbet,[is scared of]moping and mowing, who since possesses chambermaids and waiting-women

Derived terms

• moppet

References

• (fair where servants are hired): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary

Anagrams

• MPO, OPM, PMO, POM, Pom, pom

Cameroon Pidgin

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔp/

Noun

mop

1. mouth

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔp/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mop
• Rhymes: -ɔp

Etymology 1

The now-obsolete sense brick, attested from the 17th century, appears to be the oldest, with the sense cookie following in the 18th century. The exact relationship between the various later senses is unclear. The ultimate origin is unclear, but possibly corrupted from mok (“mug, cup”).

Noun

mop m (plural moppen, diminutive mopje n)

1. a joke, jest

   Synonyms: grap, grol, fattoe

2. a tune, melody
3. a type of cookie
4. (endearing, often in the diminutive) a woman or girl
5. (obsolete) a brick

Usage notes

• The use as an affectionate term of address is often as a diminutive, and specifically in the non-standard form moppie. The standard diminutive mopje is never used for this sense.

Derived terms

• Belgenmop
• kloostermop
• moppen tappen
• moppenboek
• moppentrommel
• Nederlandermop

 

Descendants

• → Indonesian: mop (only found in the phrase April Mop)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English mop.

Noun

mop m (plural mops, diminutive mopje n)

1. a mop (an implement for washing floors, etc.)

   Synonyms: zwabber, dekzwabber

Descendants

• → Papiamentu: mòp

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

mop

1. inflection of moppen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔp/

Noun

mop f (plural mops)

1. Alternative form of moppe

Polish

mop

Etymology

Borrowed from English mop.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔp/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔp
• Syllabification: mop
• Homophone: MOP

Noun

mop m inan or m animal

1. mop (implement for washing floors or similar, made of a piece of cloth, or a collection of thrums, or coarse yarn, fastened to a handle)

   Hypernym: szczotka

Declension

Declension of mop

	singular	plural
nominative	mop	mopy
genitive	mopa	mopów
dative	mopowi	mopom
accusative	mop/mopa	mopy
instrumental	mopem	mopami
locative	mopie	mopach
vocative	mopie	mopy

Derived terms

verbs

• mopować impf

 

Further reading

• mop in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• mop in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English mop.

Noun

mop n (plural mopuri)

1. mop (an implement for washing floors)

Declension

Declension of mop

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) mop	mopul	(niște) mopuri	mopurile
genitive/dative	(unui) mop	mopului	(unor) mopuri	mopurilor
vocative	mopule		mopurilor