goop
UK[ɡuːp]US[ɡuːp]
n
A sticky or slimy, often messy, substance.
n
(informal, often derogatory) Sentimental or mawkish talk or ideas.
Etymology
The word 'goop' is a 20th-century American English coinage, first recorded around 1900. It is believed to be an expressive formation, imitative of the sound or sensation associated with a soft, viscous, semi-liquid mass. This aligns with a pattern in English where words like 'goo', 'gloop', and 'slop' are created to evoke a sensory impression through their phonetic texture. Its later, informal meaning referring to overly sentimental material extends this sense of an unpleasantly thick or cloying substance metaphorically to language and ideas.
Analysis
This word is a simplex, likely formed by onomatopoeia or sound symbolism. It is not productively composed of classical morphemes in its modern English form.
Examples
The children got a mixture of glue and glitter all over the table, creating a colorful goop.
After the experiment, the beaker was coated in a strange chemical goop.
I can't stand that romantic movie; it's just full of sentimental goop.