sāpō

Meaning

1. An ancient hair product.
   Prodest et sapo, Galliarum hoc inventum rutilandis capillis. Fit ex sebo et cinere, optimus fagino et caprino, duobus modis, spissus ac liquidus, uterque apud Germanos maiore in usu viris quam feminis.The Gaulish invention sapo is also useful for dying one's hair red. It is made of animal fat and ash; the best kind is made of ash from beech trees and fat from goats. It comes in two types, a viscous one and a more runny one, both of which are more commonly used by men than women amongst the Germanic peoples.late 1st c. CE, Pliny, Natural History, 28.12.51:

Declension

Origins

Borrowed from Proto-Germanic *saipǭ. Documented since the first century CE (see quote).

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries