sod

See also: Appendix:Variations of "sod"

English

Workers laying sod.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sɒd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /sɑd/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /sɔd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒd
• Homophone: sawed (cot–caught merger)

Etymology 1

From Middle English sod, sodde first attested in the mid-15th century, from Middle Dutch zoden (“turf”) or Middle Low German sôde, soede (“turf”), both related to Dutch zode (“turf”), German Sode (“turf”), Old Frisian sātha (“sod”), all being of uncertain ultimate origin.

Noun

sod (plural sods)

1. (uncountable) The stratum of the surface of the soil which is filled with the roots of grass, or any portion of that surface; turf; sward.
   • 1746, William Collins, Ode written in the year 1746:

     She there shall dress a sweeter sod / Than Fancy's feet have ever trod.

2. (uncountable) Turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns.

   The landscapers rolled sod onto the bare earth and made a presentable lawn by nightfall.

3. (countable) A piece of this.
   • 1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 338:

     In Walachia, green sods are laid on the window-sills and on the lintels of the doors to avert the uncanny crew [i.e. witches].

Related terms

• soddie
• sodless

Translations

stratum of soil

• Armenian: ճիմ (hy) (čim)
• Czech: please add this translation if you can
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: teellaag (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: turfo
• Finnish: juurikerros
• German: Grasnarbe (de) (stratum of soil); Sode (de) f, Grassode (de) f, Rasensode f (cut piece); Wasen (de) m, Plagge f (regional); Rasenziegel m (as building material)
• Hungarian: humusz (hu), rög (hu), termőtalaj (hu)
• Italian: zolla (it), piota (it) f
• Latin: caespes m
• Macedonian: баз m (baz), бу́сен m (búsen)
• Ottoman Turkish: چیم (çim)
• Plautdietsch: Sood f
• Polish: darń (pl) f, darń (pl) f
• Russian: дёрн (ru) m (djorn)
• Scottish Gaelic: fòid f
• Serbo-Croatian: busen (sh)
• Swedish: gräsmatta (sv) c
• Ukrainian: де́рен m (déren)

turf grown for establishment of lawn

• Bulgarian: чим m (čim)
• Czech: please add this translation if you can
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: graszode (nl) m or f
• Finnish: siirtonurmi
• French: gazon (fr) m
• German: Rollrasen (de) m, Fertigrasen m (long cut band in landscape gardening)
• Hungarian: gyeptégla (hu), gyep (hu), pázsit (hu), gyeptakaró
• Macedonian: баз m (baz), бу́сен m (búsen)
• Ottoman Turkish: چیم (çim)
• Polish: darń (pl) f
• Russian: дёрн (ru) m (djorn)
• Scottish Gaelic: fòid f
• Serbo-Croatian: tepih trava
• Spanish: césped (es) m, tepe (es) m
• Swedish: grästorva c
• Ukrainian: де́рен m (déren)

Verb

sod (third-person singular simple present sods, present participle sodding, simple past and past participle sodded)

1. To cover with sod.

   He sodded the worn areas twice a year.

   • 2006, Paul Vela, Sealed with a Kiss, page 97:

     The innermore walls were sod inlayed with roots from trees, plants and weeds.

Translations

to cover with sod

• French: gazonner (fr)
• Hungarian: gyepesít (hu), begyepesít, gyeptéglával (be)füvesít/​kirak, gyeptégláz

Etymology 2

Clipping of sodomite or sodomize.

Noun

sod (plural sods)

1. (UK, Ireland, vulgar, dated) Sodomite; bugger.
   • 1998, Sarah Waters, Tipping the Velvet, Virago (2018), page 207:

     The Empire, in particular, was always thick with sods: they strolled side-by-side with the gay girls of the promenade, or stood, in little knots, exchanging gossip, comparing fortunes, greeting one another with flapping hands and high, extravagant voices.

2. (UK, Ireland, slang, mildly derogatory, formerly considered vulgar) A person; often qualified with an adjective.

   You mean old sod!

   poor sod

   unlucky sod

   You silly sod

3. (UK, Ireland, mildly vulgar) Any trifling amount, a bugger, a damn, a jot.

   I don’t care a sod.

Derived terms

• old sod
• sod all
• Sod’s law

Translations

sodomite; bugger

• French: (obsolete) bougre (fr) m
• Russian: пидор (ru) m (pidor)

a person, usually male

• French: bougre (fr) m
• Russian: чувак (ru) m (čuvak)

Interjection

sod

1. (UK, Ireland, vulgar) expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, boredom, frustration.

Verb

sod (third-person singular simple present sods, present participle sodding, simple past and past participle sodded)

1. (transitive, UK, Ireland, slang, vulgar) Bugger; sodomize.
2. (transitive, UK, Ireland, slang, vulgar) Damn, curse, confound.

   Sod him!, Sod it!, Sod that bastard!

Derived terms

• sod a dog
• sod it
• sod off
• sod that for a game of soldiers
• sod this for a game of soldiers
• sod this for a lark

Etymology 3

From the Old English plural past tense, or a back-formation from the past participle sodden.

Verb

sod

1. (obsolete) simple past of seethe
   • 1530 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), W[illiam] T[yndale], transl., [The Pentateuch] (Tyndale Bible), Malborow [Marburg], Hesse: […] Hans Luft [actually Antwerp: Johan Hoochstraten], →OCLC, Genesis xxv:[29], folio xxxiiij, verso:

     Iacob ſod potage ⁊ Eſau came from the feld ⁊ was faine […]

Adjective

sod (comparative more sod, superlative most sod)

1. (obsolete) Boiled.
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
     , New York, 2001, p.223:

     Beer, if it be over-new, or over-stale, over-strong, or not sod, […] is most unwholesome, frets, and galls, etc.

2. (Australia, of bread) Sodden; incompletely risen.

   sod damper

Noun

sod (plural sods)

1. (Australia, colloquial) A damper (bread) which has failed to rise, remaining a flat lump.
   • 1954, Tom Ronan, Vision Splendid; quoted in Tom Burton, Words in Your Ear, Wakefield Press, 1999, →ISBN, page 120:

     And Mart the cook the shovel took / And swung the damper to and fro. / 'Another sod, so help me God, / That's fourteen in a flamin' row.

Etymology 4

Noun

sod (plural sods)

1. The rock dove.

Anagrams

• ods, OD's, ODS, DoS, dso, OS&D, 'dos, DOS, OSD, ODs, dos, do's, SDO, DSO

Breton

Noun

sod m

1. imbecile

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse sót (“soot”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /soːd/, [soðˀ]
• Rhymes: -oð

Noun

sod c (singular definite soden, not used in plural form)

1. soot

Verb

sod

1. imperative of sode

Maltese

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian sodo, from Latin solidus. Doublet of solidu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔːt/

Adjective

sod (feminine singular soda, plural sodi)

1. firm; steadfast

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse soð. Doublet of sodd.

Noun

sod n (definite singular sodet, indefinite plural sod, definite plural soda)

1. boiling, bubbling
2. broth
3. meat soup

References

• “sod” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *sǫdъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sóːt/

Noun

sọ̑d m inan

1. barrel

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	sód
gen. sing.	sóda
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	sód	sóda	sódi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	sóda	sódov	sódov
dative (dajȃlnik)	sódu	sódoma	sódom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	sód	sóda	sóde
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	sódu	sódih	sódih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	sódom	sódoma	sódi

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem, plural in -ôv-
nom. sing.	sód
gen. sing.	sóda
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	sód	sodôva	sodôvi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	sóda	sodôv	sodôv
dative (dajȃlnik)	sódu	sodôvoma	sodôvom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	sód	sodôva	sodôve
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	sódu	sodôvih	sodôvih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	sódom	sodôvoma	sodôvi

Further reading

• “sod”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Uzbek

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic صَاد (ṣād).

Noun

sod (plural sodlar)

1. the Arabic letter ص

Declension

Declension of sod

	singular	plural
nominative	sod	sodlar
genitive	sodning	sodlarning
dative	sodga	sodlarga
definite accusative	sodni	sodlarni
locative	sodda	sodlarda
ablative	soddan	sodlardan
similative	soddek	sodlardek

Possessive forms of sod

1st person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	sodim	sodlarim
genitive	sodimning	sodlarimning
dative	sodimga	sodlarimga
definite accusative	sodimni	sodlarimni
locative	sodimda	sodlarimda
ablative	sodimdan	sodlarimdan
similative	sodimdek	sodlarimdek
2nd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	soding	sodlaring
genitive	sodingning	sodlaringning
dative	sodingga	sodlaringga
definite accusative	sodingni	sodlaringni
locative	sodingda	sodlaringda
ablative	sodingdan	sodlaringdan
similative	sodingdek	sodlaringdek
3rd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	sodi	sodlari
genitive	sodining	sodlarining
dative	sodiga	sodlariga
definite accusative	sodini	sodlarini
locative	sodida	sodlarida
ablative	sodidan	sodlaridan
similative	sodidek	sodlaridek
1st person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	sodimiz	sodlarimiz
genitive	sodimizning	sodlarimizning
dative	sodimizga	sodlarimizga
definite accusative	sodimizni	sodlarimizni
locative	sodimizda	sodlarimizda
ablative	sodimizdan	sodlarimizdan
similative	sodimizdek	sodlarimizdek
2nd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	sodingiz	sodlaringiz
genitive	sodingizning	sodlaringizning
dative	sodingizga	sodlaringizga
definite accusative	sodingizni	sodlaringizni
locative	sodingizda	sodlaringizda
ablative	sodingizdan	sodlaringizdan
similative	sodingizdek	sodlaringizdek
3rd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	sodi	sodlari
genitive	sodining	sodlarining
dative	sodiga	sodlariga
definite accusative	sodini	sodlarini
locative	sodida	sodlarida
ablative	sodidan	sodlaridan
similative	sodidek	sodlaridek

Volapük

Noun

sod (nominative plural sods)

1. sauce

Declension

Declension of sod

	singular	plural
nominative	sod	sods
genitive	soda	sodas
dative	sode	sodes
accusative	sodi	sodis
vocative 1	o sod!	o sods!
predicative 2	sodu	sodus

¹ status as a case is disputed
² in later, non-classical Volapük only