soapen meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

soapen

verb

Etymology From soap + -en.

To make soapy; apply soap to; lather up

I know, his tastes were disgusting too), he flicked through his enormous dictionary (which he was careful to keep out of the dampening effects of the shower and the soapening effects of the soap) looking for and learning enormous words that he could use to impress everyone as he practised the speech that he had only just written and improved with a careful swirl from his indigo-ink fountain pen which he filled from a faucet installed specially for the purpose.2005, The Puffin Book of Funny Stories, page 18:

adj

Etymology From soap + -en.

Figuratively, Rare Made of, or carved out of soap

None to mix stones or sand with kelp or foreign ashes, or expose such to sale, under forfeiture of 40s. to the informer, nor use lime, soapen dregs, or any dung but cow-dung, in the whitening or bleaching linen cloth or yarn, without forfeiting 5l. to the informer; […]1746, The gentleman's magazine, volume 16, page 657:
From this ivory, or soapen, pinnacle we can see at once that there is no such thing as a population problem; there is only population.1958, Roy G. Francis, The Population Ahead, page 64:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.