"fine soft mud or slime," Old English wase "soft mud, mire," from Proto-Germanic *waison (source also of Old Saxon waso "wet ground, mire," Old Norse veisa "pond of stagnant water"), probably from a PIE root meaning "wet." Modern spelling is from mid-1500s.

1580s, "dazed," from damp (n.). Meaning "slightly wet" is from 1706. Related: Damply; dampness.

c. 1400, "to wet, moisten," from Old French moillier "to wet, moisten" (12c., Modern French mouiller), from Vulgar Latin *molliare, from Latin mollis "soft," from PIE root *mel- (1) "soft." Sense of "drudge, labor, toil" (1540s) probably is via the notion of "to labor in dirt or mire." Related: Moiled; moiling.

"to wet or befoul a garment by allowing it to drag along damp ground or mud," 1510s, frequentative of drag (v.); also see -el (3). This led to draggle-tail "sloppy woman, woman whose skirts are wet and draggled" (1590s). Related: Draggled; draggling.

before vowels mast-, word-forming element meaning "female breast, mammary gland," from Greek mastos "woman's breast," from madan "to be wet, to flow," from PIE *mad- "wet, moist, dripping" (source also of Latin madere "be moist;" Albanian mend "suckle;" see mast (n.2)).

"very wet," 1823, from sop + -y (2). Meaning "sentimental" is attested by 1918. Related: Soppiness.