sleepn.
/sliːp/, U.S. /slip/ 1. in extended use.1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 62 Then a dead sleep fell on my mind.1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 716 Among other notions which they had imbibed, was that of a sleep of the soul after death.
a. The unconscious state or condition regularly and naturally assumed by man and animals, during which the activity of the nervous system is almost or entirely suspended, and recuperation of its powers takes place; slumber, repose.Also, a similar state artificially induced, as hypnotic (or magnetic) sleep. For dead sleep see dead adj. 2b. The word is further applied to the more inert condition of certain animals during hibernation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun]
sleepc825
swevenOE
swevetOE
repasta1382
slumberc1386
lib1665
the land of Nod1738
balmy1841
shut-eye1899
beddy-byes1906
dreamland1912
sleepy-bye1925
sack drill1946
sack duty1954
zed1973
c825 Vesp. Ps. cxxvi. 2 Ðonne seleð scyldum his slep.
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xxxix. 283 Sio slæwð giett slæp on ðone monnan.
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke v. 9 Slep..ymb-salde hine & Alle ðaðe mið him weron.
c1000 Ælfric Genesis xv. 12 On æfnunge befeoll slæp on Abram.
12.. Prayer our Lady 9 in Old Eng. Misc. 192 Slep me hað mi lif forstole richt half oðer more.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7838 Þenne ich wæs on bedde iswaued mid soft mine slepen.
c1369 G. Chaucer Bk. Duchesse 137 Goo..to Morpheus, Thou knowist hym well, the god of slepe.
1430–40 J. Lydgate tr. Bochas Fall of Princes (1544) i. viii. 15 She gaue him milke, ye slepe fell in his hede.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid viii. vii. 84 The plesand naturall slep..can he tak.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. viii. sig. Ff8 Sleepe they sayd would make her battill better. View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 46 My selfe being at all howers (but time of sleepe) admitted into his chamber.
1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man ix. §1. 197 Sleep comes as a Medicine to..weariness, as a repairer of..decay.
a1771 T. Gray Imit. Propertius in Wks. (1884) I. 154 If sinking into Sleep she seem to close Her languid Lids.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth II. 139 Sleep is,..to some, a very agreeable period of their existence.
1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus iv. i. 108 If Sleep shows such things, what may not death disclose?
1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland I. p. xix Does sleep or a periodical season of repose for the organs of the senses, ever visit fish?
b. Frequently in prepositional phrases, as to, in, †on, out of, †of sleep(Cf. also asleep adv. and adj.)In some of the phrases with to it is not always clear whether the noun or verb is intended.
ΚΠ
(a)
in extended use.c1440 Pallad. on Husb. xiii. 42 His fruyt in picched pottis me may kepe, In drosse of grape or applis leid to slepe.(b)c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xxviii. 195 Ðonne hnappað he oð he wierð on fæstum slæpe.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8352 He comm till himm o nahht & fand himm þanne o slæpe.a1300 Cursor Mundi 2974 Bot godd on night com to þe king, In slepe.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 10 She fill on slepe [on her] bedde.?1566 W. P. tr. C. S. Curio Pasquine in Traunce 62 To wake the waspes of Germaine, that were on sleepe.1640 Plymouth Col. Rec. (1855) I. 156 In the morneing he found them on sleep by the fyer.1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvii. 156 Dreams be naturally but the fancies remaining in sleep.1780 Mirror No. 73 A particular train of thought impressed upon us in sleep.1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. xv. 306 The bold and buoyant spirit which forsakes them not even in sleep!(c)c960 Rule St. Benet (Schröer) 2 Nu is tima, þæt we of slepe arisan.OE Cynewulf Elene 75 He of slæpe onbrægd, eofurcumble be þeaht.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3136 Iosæp..ras himm upp off slæpe anan.1310 St. Brendan (Bälz) 457 Þe fisches sturt up vor hor song, as hi awoke of slepe.a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gen. xxviii. 16 Whanne Jacob hadde wakyd of sleep.1526 Bible (Tyndale) John xi. f. cxxxvij I goo to wake hym outt of slepe.OE Beowulf 1251 Sigon þa to slæpe.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 271 The nyht, whan he was leid to slepe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20496 All þar fell to slepe.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 3347 When þai etyn and to slepe ȝode.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 5 The Sailers, who..commonly goe to sleepe..in their wet clothes.
1764 T. Reid Inq. Human Mind v. §7 A child that has a good musical ear, may be put to sleep..by the modulation of musical sounds.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) iv. 38 Damn that boy, he's gone to sleep again.
1885 E. Lynn Linton Autobiogr. Christopher Kirkland II. ii. 68 You..went happily to sleep.
c. Personified (after Latin Somnus, Greek Ὕπνος).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > sleep personified
sleep1390
dustman1821
sandman1821
sandboy1873
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 101 Sche bad Yris..To Slepes hous that sche schal wende, And bidde him [etc.].
c1460 R. Roos tr. La Belle Dame sans Mercy 2 Halfe in a dreme..The golden slepe me wrapt vndir his wyng.
1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) sig. Q iv By him lay heavy slepe, the cosin of death.
1651 W. Davenant Gondibert i. vi. 80 Kind Sleep, Nights welcome Officer.
1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xiv. 265 The Cave of Death's half-Brother, Sleep.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Gardener's Daughter in Poems (new ed.) II. 31 Night..in her bosom bore the baby, Sleep.
d. The effects or signs of sleep. Also spec., the solid substance found in the corners of the eyes and along the edges of the eyelids after sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > effects or signs of sleep
sleep1864
sleep-stour1888
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > excretions from eye > [noun]
spadec725
tear971
goundc1000
wateriness?1550
eye-stream1591
eye-water1591
eye drop1600
guma1616
eye-brine1616
gowl1665
gore1741
teardrop1789
tearlet1858
sleep1922
sleeper1942
1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 103 A drowsy maid with the sleep scarce brushed out of her hair.
1905 in Eng. Dial. Dict.
1922 ‘R. West’ Judge i. iv. 195 Richard was sitting in front of the fire, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
1951 L. MacNeice tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust 241 Children, you have scarcely scrubbed your eyes of sleep—and bored already?
1955 J. D. Salinger in New Yorker 29 Jan. 27/1 He began to massage the side of his face.., removing..a bit of sleep from one eye.
1973 P. White Eye of Storm vii. 300 The girl stood..washing the sleep out of her eyes.
e. to lose sleep over, etc.: see lose v.1 3b.
2. † b. In plural, of more than one person. Obsolete.† c. With allusion to sleeping together. Obsolete. rare.
a. With possessive pronouns, frequently in adverbial phrases, as in his sleep, etc. Also, in hyperbolic phrase could do something in one's sleep and variants.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > find no difficulty in [verb (transitive)] > do easily
to take in one's stride1832
to do something (standing) on one's head1872
to toss off1874
could do something in one's sleep1953
c825 Vesp. Ps. lxxv. 5 Slypton slep heara & nowiht gemoettun.
c1100 Canterb. Ps. lxxv. 6 Hie slepon sleep vel swefne hiræ.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 328 Him þoȝte þe ymage in is slep tolde him is chance.
c1386 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 188–9 This man out of his sleepe for feere abrayde; But whan that he was wakened of his sleepe [etc.].
c1400 N. Love tr. Bonaventura Mirror Life Christ (1908) 64 The aungel of god apered to Joseph in his slepe.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 6259 When he of his slepe wakynd.
1573 G. Harvey Schollers Loove in Let.-bk. (1884) 131 In my very sleepe, I was adrempt in this wise.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. iii. 9 To hinder and break our sleep.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 3 His sleep Was Aerie light, from pure digestion bred. View more context for this quotation
1712 M. Henry Daily Commun. God (1822) 372 That will break a worldly man's heart, which will not break a godly man's sleep.
1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 100 She still beheld, Now wide awake, the vision of her sleep.
1852 M. Arnold Tristram & Iseult 59 Hark! he mutters in his sleep.
1953 E. Coxhead Midlanders viii. 187 There's no difficulty. We could make them in our sleep.
1970 J. Braine Stay with me till Morning i. 9 His job didn't claim much of his energy. He could, as they say, do it in his sleep.
ΚΠ
1587 J. Hooker Chron. Ireland 160/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II Taking aduantage of the time, when men were wearie and in their sleepes.
1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. C4 All his family destroied in their sleepes by the mercilesse fire.
1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Gothick Warre i. 25 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian The people of Rome..being put also to guard the walls, and want their sleepes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > sexual intercourse > an act of
swivec1560
fall1594
sleep1612
fuck1663
merry bout1780
stroke1785
screw?c1845
charver1846
fuckeea1866
sex act1888
frigc1890
grind1893
mount1896
poke1902
tumble1903
screwing1904
ride1905
roll1910
trick1926
lay1932
jump1934
bang1937
knock1937
shag1937
a roll in the hay1945
boff1956
naughty1959
root1961
shtup1964
home run1967
seeing to1970
legover1975
bonk1978
zatch1980
boink1989
1612 J. Webster White Divel ii. i Fare you well, Our sleeps are sever'd.
3.
a. A period or occasion of slumber. Also, in to have or get one's sleep out, to sleep until one wakes naturally.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > an instance or period of
sleepc1175
slumberingc1374
slumber?a1400
slaughtc1400
somniation1598
go-down1683
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > other specific conditions
lulla1450
to lie in the woollen1600
to have or get one's sleep out1685
bundle1781
crash1969
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7043 Cristess resste. & cristess ro. & cristess swete slæpess.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3152 & tær he ras upp off þatt slæp.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 31 Hi hedden leuere lyese vour messen þanne..ane slep.
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. ii. metr. 5. 50 Þei slepen holesom slepes vpon þe gras.
a1400–50 Alexander 375 Qwen..folke was on þaire firste slepe.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms lxxxix. 5 They are euen as a slepe, and fade awaye sodenly like the grasse.
1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue f. 17v All your fantasies are but as..the sleepes of a sick man.
a1619 S. Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. (1626) 56 His owne sleepes..are saide to haue beene very tumultuous, and full of affrightments.
1685 C. Gardiner Let. in M. M. Verney Mem. (1899) IV. ix. 341 Your grandsons shall have their sleep out beefore they goe.
1692 M. Prior To Charles Montague in Wks. (1866) I. 46 So, whilst in feverish sleeps we think We taste what waking we desire.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 69 His Sleeps are moderate enough, just to suffice Nature.
1764 London Mag. 417/1 She fell into a sleep which held four days.
1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting iii. 91 Towards morning I got a good sleep.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 412 Between the sleeps the general tendency is to quiet indifference.
1911 F. H. Burnett Secret Garden xvii. 183 ‘You must go back and get your sleep out,’ she said.
1930 A. Bennett Imperial Palace lvii. 434 She had told him to call her. He had refused; she must have her sleep out.
b. As an indication or division of time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > day and night > night > [noun] > as a division or period of time
nightOE
sleep1131
1131 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1131 On an Mone~niht æt þe forme slæp.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 186 They departed about the first slepe.
1670 N. Carteret in Coll. S. Carolina Hist. Soc. (1897) V. 166 The Caseeka..was within one sleep of us.
1702 C. Mather Magnalia Christi iii. iii. iii. 192/1 Their [sc. the Indians'] Division of Time is by Sleeps, and Moons, and Winters.
1893 Arena Mar. 495 Time is divided by them into ‘sleeps’, and in the same way they [the Indians] estimate distances and journeys.
1896 C. Whitney On Snow-shoes to Barren Grounds 182 The one ‘sleep’ did not bring us up to the caribou, but it took us north to the lodge of another Indian.
1919 L. F. Cody Mem. Buffalo Bill 312 It was many sleeps away.
1953 D. Cushman Stay away, Joe 53 From three-four sleeps came riders to the tepee of our father.
c. figurative. A prison term, usually comparatively short. slang (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of
time1790
lagging1819
stretch1821
model1845
birdlime1857
penal1864
prison sentence1867
rap1870
bit1871
spot1895
hard time1896
sleep1911
jolt1912
bird1924
fall1926
beef1928
trick1933
porridge1950
custodial sentence1951
1911 D. Lowrie My Life in Prison vi. 63 A year sentence is known as a ‘sleep’.
1931 ‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route vi. 65 Any time you want to retreat to some such place for a short or long rest or ‘sleep’, just go to the social worker displaying the proper symptoms.
1938 J. Phelan Lifer xix. 202 I wasn't interested myself [in escaping]. Three years was nothing—just a sleep, as you chaps put it.
1971 D. Bagley Freedom Trap iii. 59 In prison jargon, a ‘sleep’ is a sentence from six months to two years; a ‘cut’ is from two to four years, and a ‘stretch’ is anything over four years.
4. figurative.
a. The repose of death. (Usually with qualifying terms or phrases.) to put to sleep, to kill, esp. painlessly; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun] > state or condition of
deathOE
homeOE
restOE
sleepOE
powderc1300
corruptiona1340
gravec1380
darkness1535
silence1535
tomb1559
iron sleep1573
another country1597
iron slumber1604
deadness1607
deadlihead1612
deadlihood1659
nothingness1813
unlivingness1914
post-mortemity1922
the world > life > death > killing > kill [verb (transitive)]
swevec725
quelmeOE
slayc893
quelleOE
of-falleOE
ofslayeOE
aquellc950
ayeteeOE
spillc950
beliveOE
to bring (also do) of (one's) life-dayOE
fordoa1000
forfarea1000
asweveOE
drepeOE
forleseOE
martyrOE
to do (also i-do, draw) of lifeOE
bringc1175
off-quellc1175
quenchc1175
forswelta1225
adeadc1225
to bring of daysc1225
to do to deathc1225
to draw (a person) to deathc1225
murder?c1225
aslayc1275
forferec1275
to lay to ground, to earth (Sc. at eird)c1275
martyrc1300
strangle1303
destroya1325
misdoa1325
killc1330
tailc1330
to take the life of (also fro)c1330
enda1340
to kill to (into, unto) death1362
brittena1375
deadc1374
to ding to deathc1380
mortifya1382
perisha1387
to dight to death1393
colea1400
fella1400
kill out (away, down, up)a1400
to slay up or downa1400
swelta1400
voida1400
deliverc1400
starvec1425
jugylc1440
morta1450
to bring to, on, or upon (one's) bierc1480
to put offc1485
to-slaya1500
to make away with1502
to put (a person or thing) to silencec1503
rida1513
to put downa1525
to hang out of the way1528
dispatch?1529
strikea1535
occidea1538
to firk to death, (out) of lifec1540
to fling to deathc1540
extinct1548
to make out of the way1551
to fet offa1556
to cut offc1565
to make away?1566
occise1575
spoil1578
senda1586
to put away1588
exanimate1593
unmortalize1593
speed1594
unlive1594
execute1597
dislive1598
extinguish1598
to lay along1599
to make hence1605
conclude1606
kill off1607
disanimate1609
feeze1609
to smite, stab in, under the fifth rib1611
to kill dead1615
transporta1616
spatch1616
to take off1619
mactate1623
to make meat of1632
to turn up1642
inanimate1647
pop1649
enecate1657
cadaverate1658
expedite1678
to make dog's meat of1679
to make mincemeat of1709
sluice1749
finisha1753
royna1770
still1778
do1780
deaden1807
deathifyc1810
to lay out1829
cool1833
to use up1833
puckeroo1840
to rub out1840
cadaverize1841
to put under the sod1847
suicide1852
outkill1860
to fix1875
to put under1879
corpse1884
stiffen1888
tip1891
to do away with1899
to take out1900
stretch1902
red-light1906
huff1919
to knock rotten1919
skittle1919
liquidate1924
clip1927
to set over1931
creasea1935
ice1941
lose1942
to put to sleep1942
zap1942
hit1955
to take down1967
wax1968
trash1973
ace1975
OE Crist III 890 Weccað of deaðe dryhtgumena bearn, eall monna cynn, to meotudsceafte egeslic of þære ealdan moldan, hatað hy upp astandan sneome of slæpe þy fæstan.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 19254 He ras..Off dæþess slæp to life.
a1400 Minor Poems from Vernon MS xxiii. 1130 Þe geaunt..Þat wel a-wakeþ þe slepynge Of sleep of deþ so long.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 89 Help me..That suddand sleip of deide do me na teine.
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Aug. 170 Till my last sleepe Doe close mine eyes.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 38 Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking.
1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 378 They slept the sleep from which they shall not awake until the Judgment Day.
1942 R. Godden Breakfast with Nikolides v. 118 I want you simply to give him an injection and put him to sleep. I will muzzle him.
1966 ‘K. A. Saddler’ Gilt Edge ii. 37 I had to have the Allard [sc. a car] put to sleep... She started coughing up oil... I couldn't bear to see her in agony.
1967 A. Lewin Unaltered Cat ii. vi. 134 Her cousin's Siamese cat..had..a litter of four adorable seal~point kittens. Ethel's husband was for putting them to sleep, but Ethel wouldn't hear of it.
1970 Women's Househ. July 10/1 She had started to suffer, so the humane thing to do was to put her to sleep.
1975 I. Melchior Sleeper Agent (1976) iii. vii. 154 The Führer's Alsatian dog, Blondi..had been ordered put to sleep. Dr. Haase had given her poison.
b. A state of inactivity or of sluggishness (in persons or things).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > [noun]
sleepc897
restc1175
passibilityc1485
slumber1554
cessation1603
quiescence1625
torpor1626
quiescency1629
inaction1638
inactivity1640
vacation1644
unactiveness1647
non-acting1648
passiveness1648
requiescence1654
unactivity1654
inertness1661
passivity1667
inactiveness1678
unaction1698
stagnation1711
supinity1725
immechanism1740
inertion1756
repose1757
lifelessness1833
stagnancy1837
unawakenedness1879
stasis1920
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care lvi. 431 Be ðæs modes slæpe wæs ær awriten on ðære ilcan Salomonnes bec.
OE Beowulf 1742 He þæt wyrse ne con..; bið se slæp to fæst.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3148 Þatt wass þurrh wanntrowwþess slæp.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 199 Þis nis bute islepe of ȝemeles & of slauðe.
1710 J. Norris Treat. Christian Prudence v. 250 The Agreement and Proportion that is between Sleep and Sin,..so that Sin is a kind of Spiritual Sleep.
1719 Free-thinker No. 82. 2 Many..begin to slumber in their Manhood, and drop into a sound Sleep in their Age.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 637 Ere nature rose from her eternal sleep.
a1822 P. B. Shelley With Guitar in Athenæum (1833) 20 Oct. 680/1 While on the steep The woods were in their winter sleep.
1874 H. R. Reynolds John the Baptist iv. §5. 259 Men who had laid their ethical sense to sleep.
1889 A. Sergeant Esther Denison I. v. 51 He had put his doubts to sleep.
c. The condition of being quiet and peaceful; complete absence of noise or stir.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > quietness or tranquillity > [noun]
stillnessc888
roOE
stilth?c1225
lowna1250
peacea1275
restc1350
tranquillityc1374
leea1400
tranquille1412
quietness?a1425
quiet?c1450
restfulnessc1450
quiety?a1500
quietation?1504
calm1547
calmness1561
peacefulnessa1566
halcyon1567
repose1577
quietude1598
still1608
hushtness1609
reposedness1616
reposeness1617
serenity1641
undisturbedness1649
indisturbance1660
pacateness1666
sleep1807
tranquilness1818
requiescence1837
reposefulness1872
1807 W. Wordsworth Poems II. 138 The sleep that is among the lonely hills.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Charles I ii, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 245 Innocent sleep Of templed cities.
1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton xix. 274 The deep sleep of the landscape.
5.
a. Botany. A condition assumed by many plants, esp. during the night, marked by the closing of petals or leaves.After Latin Somnus Plantarum, the title of a pamphlet published by P. Bremer in 1755.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by age or cycles > [noun] > condition of being closed for night
sleep1757
1757 J. Hill Sleep of Plants 30 What is called the sleep of plants is the effect of the absence of light alone.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 419 This species is a notable instance of what is called the Sleep of Plants—for every night the leaves approach in pairs.
1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 129/2 During sleep the leaves of the sensitive-plant lose their peculiar sensibility.
1877 C. Darwin Let. 4 Oct. (1903) II. 414 The cotyledons of Cassia go to sleep, and are sensitive to a touch.
b. A state of numbness in a limb, produced by prolonged pressure upon it. (Cf. asleep adv. and adj. 4.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > [noun] > state of being rendered physically insensible > caused by pressure
obdormition1857
sleep1859
1859 Princess Royal Let. 12 Dec. in Dearest Child (1964) 212 Wegner..pinches his arm to see whether he feels it... He feels just a little but not much, like a part that is gone to sleep.
1882 Quain's Dict. Med. II. 1649 There is numbness in the hands and forearms, with a sensation of ‘going to sleep’ in the fingers.
1893 A. S. Eccles Sciatica 18 In the cases of external pressure..the patients noticed that the limb had ‘gone to sleep’.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
sleep deprivation n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > prevention of ability to sleep
sleep deprivation1966
1966 I. Jefferies House-surgeon xii. 230 Those who are still not weakened sufficiently are eroded remorselessly by sleep-deprivation.
1980 E. Behr Getting Even i. 18 We tried another tactic... Truth drugs... Even some subtle sleep deprivation. Inconclusive.
sleep-disturbance n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > disturbed or broken
oneirodynia1800
sleep-disturbance1822
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. III. 57 Fatuity, mania, melancholy and sleep-disturbance.
sleep-land n.
ΚΠ
1874 L. Carr Judith Gwynne I. v. 149 Then her wandering mind went off into sleepland.
sleep-tide n.
ΚΠ
1887 W. Morris tr. Homer Odyssey I. xi. 202 And now anigh it doth it draw To the sleep-tide.
sleep-time n.
ΚΠ
1889 R. Browning Asolando At the midnight, in the silence of the sleep-time.
b.
sleep-like adj.
ΚΠ
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. IV. xliii. 193 At night they regularly muster in a state of sleep-like silence.
C2. With agent-nouns, verbal nouns, and present participles, as sleep-bringer, sleep-dispeller; sleep-bringing, sleep-causing, sleep-compelling, sleep-desiring, sleep-producing, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [adjective] > causing or inducing sleep
sleepingc1369
sleepy1398
lullingc1440
somnolentc1475
sleepery1513
sleeprife1513
narcotic1526
opiate1543
breed-sleep1582
somnoriferous1583
drowsy1590
dormitive1593
soporiferous1601
somniferous1602
sleep-bringing1605
dormitary1609
hypnotic1625
dormitory1631
papaverous1646
dormant1654
hypnotical1657
somnifyinga1661
sleepifying1662
slumberous1667
soporific1690
somnific1721
somniculous1820
somnorific1865
soporous1866
drowsing1881
narcoleptic1984
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iv. 139 Sleepe-bringer, Pilgrims guide, Peace-louing Queene.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Somnifique, sleepe-causing.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Soporifere, soporiferous, sleepe-procuring.
1616 W. Browne Britannia's Pastorals II. iii. 60 Sleepe-bringing Poppy.
1625 T. May tr. J. Barclay in K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis iv. xviii. 306 Sleepe-prouoking Poppy and soft paces.
1748 J. Thomson Castle of Indolence i. iii Sleep-soothing groves, and quiet lawns between.
1748 J. Thomson Castle of Indolence i. lviii Where purls the brook with sleep-inviting sound.
1762 S. Foote Orators i. 28 Where the sleep-compelling power, will be experimentally demonstrated.
1816 H. G. Knight Ilderim 407 Onward the sleep-disturbing triumph roll'd.
1844 E. A. Poe in Godey's Lady's Bk. Apr. 177/2 This rapport extended beyond the limits of the simple sleep-producing power... At the first attempt..the mesmerist entirely failed.
1845 G. P. R. James Smuggler III. 37 Any sleep-resisting powers of the human frame.
1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. vi. 88 The sleep-inducing weavings and unweavings of political combination.
1861 G. H. Kingsley in F. Galton Vacation Tourists & Trav. 1860 116 Tub, sleep-dispeller, welcome!
1874 L. Carr Judith Gwynne I. i. 15 Surrounded..by drowsy, sleep-compelling influences.
1878 B. Taylor Prince Deukalion i. iv. 34 Dull gleams from sleep-desiring eyes.
C3. With past participles, as sleep-bedeafened, sleep-bound, sleep-created, sleep-dazed, sleep-dewed, sleep-drowned, sleep-twisted, etc.; also with participial adjectives, as sleep-drunk.
ΚΠ
1605 P. Woodhouse Flea (1877) 11 The glut'nous Wolfe; and the sleep-fatted Beare.
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 20 Blew Gladiols iuce, Where-with her sleep-swolne heavie lids she glewes.
1631 F. Quarles Hist. Samson 43 Whose softer language, by degrees, did wake His fathers sleepe-bedeafned eares.
1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) vi. ccxlii. 83 To break her sleep-inthralled Spouse's chains.
1792 R. Cumberland Calvary (1803) II. 57 'Twas the voice As of a spirit..sleep-created in the troubled ear Of conscience.
1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 20 Three thousand years of sleep-unsheltered hours.
1841 J. G. Whittier in Knickerbocker May 369 Bend o'er us now, as over them, And set our sleep-bound spirits free.
1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 107 The recovering breath of earth, sleep-drowned.
1889 Cent. Dict. Sleep-drunk.
1894 H. Nisbet Bush Girl's Romance 148 While his sleep-filled eyes looked on..the morning.
1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart iii. v. 417 He..saw in a sleep~bound way how specious wisdom was.
1951 A. Koestler Age of Longing i. iii. 41 Sleep-drunk and frightened, Hydie begins to cry.
1954 A. Koestler Invisible Writing iv. xxxvii. 394 Sleep-dazed, he is unable to decide which of the two hostile dictators is reaching out for him this time.
1960 T. Hughes Lupercal 21 Our lantern's little orange flare Made a round mask of our each sleep-dazed face.
1960 S. Plath Colossus 39 Sleep-twisted sheets.
C4. † sleeprife adj. Obsolete bringing sleep, soporiferous.† sleepward adv. Obsolete (see quot. 1562).
sleep apnœa n. apnœa occurring in sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered breathing > [noun] > cessation of breathing
suppression1684
apnoea1719
sleep apnœa1976
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 18 Dec. 16/4 Sleep apnea has three forms: central apnea [etc.].
1980 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 29 Mar. 895/2 Sleep apnoea was defined as cessation of airflow at the nose and mouth lasting for at least 10 seconds.
sleep-awake n. and adj. in a state between sleeping and waking (nonce-word).
ΚΠ
1614 J. Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue vi. 77 For (sleep-awake, blinde-seeing) while hee plyes T'untrusse his Points, them (fumbling) faster tyes.
sleep-coat n. a knee-length front-fastening night-shirt or dressing-gown.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > shirt > types of > night shirt
nightshirt1657
shirt1681
night shift1690
sleep-coat1948
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > loose clothing > robe or gown > types of > dressing gown > for use at night
short gown1473
nightgowna1475
night-robe1553
wrapping-gown1709
sleep-coat1948
1948 Sun (Baltimore) 11 Feb. 3/5 (advt.) Rayon knit sleep-coats... What young, gay, pretty and practical sleepers!
1966 Punch 23 Feb. 290/2 The nearest Hardy Amies equivalent is a..short-sleeved garment called a ‘sleep-coat’, designed for warm climates and centrally heated homes... It is a loose negligé, fastening with a sash.
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 6 Nov. 21 (advt.) Sleepcoats for cool knights.
sleep disease n. the sleeping sickness of Africa.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > parasitic disorders > [noun] > trypanosomiasis
sleepy sickness1803
Gambia fever1817
sleeping sickness1875
Negro lethargy1886
sleep disease1897
trypanosomiasis1902
trypanosomatosis1903
Gambian1904
Chagas' disease1912
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 401 Among these are the smallpox, and the sleep disease.
sleep-drink n. [compare Dutch slaapdrank, German schlaftrunk] a portion of liquor taken just before bed-time; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [noun] > a drink of > taken at night
night-gear1592
sleep-drinka1699
nightcap1814
pillow-cup1829
a1699 M. Shields in J. Howie Faithful Contendings Displayed (1780) 308 That sleep-drink of the Antichristian intoxicating toleration was then brewed in hell.
1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges i. 8 Every evening they shall have their beer, and at night their sleep-drink.
sleep-learn adj. pertaining to sleep-learning.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > [adjective] > types of learning
kennetic1950
linear1958
sleep-learn1968
1968 Punch 4 Dec. 804/2 Two new ‘sleep-learn’ devices.
1972 D. Lees Zodiac 151 By using an adaptation of the sleep-learn technique we can turn you into anything we want.
sleep-learning n. learning during sleep, esp. by exposure to radio, tape-recordings, etc. (cf. hypnopaedia n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > [noun] > types of learning
opsimathya1656
latent learning1929
hypnopaedia1932
naming of (the) parts1946
sleep-learning1953
sitting next to (also by, with) Nelly1963
hidden curriculum1964
1953 M. L. Coyne in Jrnl. Exper. Psychol. (1956) LI. 97/1 (heading) Some problems and parameters of sleep learning.
1966 Listener 8 Dec. 852/3 Equally dangerous might be so-called ‘sleep-learning’ courses which try to teach you something special, like a new language, while you sleep.
1972 J. Gores Dead Skip (1973) iii. 18 Through his mind, like a sleep-learning tape, reeled Bart's words.
sleep movement n. Botany a movement of a part of a plant, esp. a leaf, that occurs each nightfall and, in reverse, each daybreak.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > growth, movement, or curvature of parts > [noun] > nastic movement > sleep movement
sleep movement1880
1880 C. Darwin & F. Darwin Power of Movement in Plants 262 The periodical movements of leaves thus provided have generally been amplified into so-called sleep-movements.
1906 A. J. Ewart tr. W. Pfeffer Physiol. Plants III. ii. 101 There is no reason for restricting the term nyctinastic to pronounced sleep-movements.
1965 P. Bell & D. Coombe tr. Strasburger's Textbk. Bot. (new ed.) 391 Mimosa also shows sleep movements, and at nightfall appears almost as if stimulated by mechanical shock.
sleep-palsy n. paralysis caused by pressure on a nerve during sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > convulsive or paralytic disorders > [noun] > palsy or paralysis > types of
mollification?a1425
hemiplexy1576
paraplegia1583
dead palsy?1594
hemiplegia1600
sideration1612
astrobolism1651
paresis1668
hemiplegy1755
general paralysis1820
refixation1825
Pott's disease1827
pamplegia1842
pamplegy1857
crossed palsy1858
transverse palsy1858
neuroparalysis1859
general paresis1862
athetosis1871
monoplegia1876
spastic paralysis1877
Landry's paralysis1882
Little's disease1884
cerebral palsy1889
paraparesis1890
hemiparesis1893
Pott's paraplegia1895
sleep-palsy1896
quadriplegia1897
pressure paralysis1899
Bell's palsy1904
taboparesis1910
tetraplegia1911
tick paralysis1914
quadriparesis1948
Landry–Guillain–Barré syndrome1957
1896 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. I. 367 The commonest types of paralysis from injury to nerves are sleep palsy, crutch palsy [etc.].
sleep-paralysis n. = sleep-palsy n.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VI. 659 Hence it is a common form of sleep paralysis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [adjective] > causing or inducing sleep
sleepingc1369
sleepy1398
lullingc1440
somnolentc1475
sleepery1513
sleeprife1513
narcotic1526
opiate1543
breed-sleep1582
somnoriferous1583
drowsy1590
dormitive1593
soporiferous1601
somniferous1602
sleep-bringing1605
dormitary1609
hypnotic1625
dormitory1631
papaverous1646
dormant1654
hypnotical1657
somnifyinga1661
sleepifying1662
slumberous1667
soporific1690
somnific1721
somniculous1820
somnorific1865
soporous1866
drowsing1881
narcoleptic1984
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iv. ix. 28 Strynkland to hym the wak hony sweit, And sleipryfe chesbow seid.
sleep-shorts n. shorts as an item of nightwear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > short trousers or shorts > types of
panties1845
lederhosen1937
Bermuda shorts1938
walk shorts1944
Bermudas1954
knickers1954
skort1957
Jamaica shorts1959
baggies1962
cut-off1964
Jamaica1964
sleep-shorts1964
hot pants1970
batty riders1992
1964 Women's Wear Daily 30 Nov. 50 A pair of sleepshorts in all sleepwear colors to be sold separately, worn with anything the consumer wishes.
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 29 May 2/6 (advt.) Classic travel shave coat & matching sleep shorts.
sleep-sick adj. excessively given to sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [adjective] > excessively given to sleep
sleep-sick1605
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vii. 235 Thou rather slept'st thy selfe, When thou did'st fancie such a sleepe-sicke Elfe.
sleep sofa n. U.S. a sofa which may be used as a bed.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > types of bed > [noun] > couch or settle used as bed
couch-bed1625
settle bed1641
couch-bedsteada1753
studio couch1903
studio bed1924
divan-bed1933
sleep sofa1973
1973 Washington Post 13 Jan. a13/3 (advt.) Elegant traditional sleeper. Refined traditional sleep sofa from Waynline.
sleep-stour n. Scottish (literally sleep-dust) signs of sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > effects or signs of sleep
sleep1864
sleep-stour1888
1888 R. Buchanan Heir of Linne viii I see the sleep-stour in his eyes already.
sleep-stuff n. an opiate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > sedatives, antispasmodics, etc. > [noun] > narcotic
narcoticc1385
opiec1385
opiate?a1425
dormitary1547
mandragora1605
dormitive1619
nepenthe1728
opiatic1847
sleep-stuff1880
chemical1954
fentanyl1963
1880 R. Browning Clive in Dramatic Idyls 77 Let alone that filthy sleep-stuff.
sleep-talk v. (intransitive) to speak (as) during sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > speak [verb (intransitive)] > sleep-talk
somniloquize1827
sleep-talk1960
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > sleep-talk
somniloquize1827
sleep-talk1960
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > stupor or coma > have stupor or coma [verb (intransitive)] > sleep-talk
somniloquize1827
sleep-talk1960
1960 S. Plath Colossus 48 The sleep-talking virgin.
1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 23 May 578/5 She has a tendency to over~point,..and I can feel death around too, very little hope or heart—‘although I admit I desire’, she intones, sleep~talking.
sleep-talker n. one who speaks during sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > one who speaks > [noun] > one who sleep-talks
sleep-talker1794
somniloquista1834
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > talking in sleep > one who
sleep-talker1794
somniloquista1834
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > stupor or coma > [noun] > sleep-talking > person
sleep-talker1794
somniloquista1834
1794 Sporting Mag. 4 106 A Sleep-walker and Sleep-talker perambulated and muttered.
1972 R. Adams Watership Down x. 44 His voice sank and became that of a sleep-talker.
1981 Maledicta 5 287 Each sleeptalker was asked..a series of some 25 questions and sub-questions about his/her verbalizations.
sleep-talking n. speaking during sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > [noun] > sleep-talking
somniloquism1821
sleep-talking1834
somniloquence1841
somniloquy1847
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > talking in sleep
somniloquism1821
sleep-talking1834
somniloquence1841
somniloquy1847
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > stupor or coma > [noun] > sleep-talking
somniloquism1821
sleep-talking1834
somniloquence1841
somniloquy1847
1834 S. Cooper Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) III. 125 (margin) Hence sleep-talking, sleep-walking, or somnambulism, and night pollution.
1899 T. C. Allbutt Syst. Med. VII. 757 Sleep-talking or somniloquy, and sleep-walking or somnambulism, are states in which the whole brain is not asleep.
1939 J. Joyce Finnegans Wake 459 She's a fright, poor old dutch, in her sleeptalking.
1981 Maledicta 5 286 There has always existed the phenomenon of somniloquy, commonly known as sleeptalking.
sleep-teaching n. teaching during sleep, esp. by exposure to radio, tape-recordings, etc. (cf. hypnopaedia n.). Cf. sleep-learning n.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > [noun] > other methods of teaching
demonstration1742
bear-leading1766
royal road1793
tachydidaxy1846
object teaching1851
object system1862
methodic1864
community education1873
methodics1883
maieutics1885
type-system1901
direct method1904
spoon-feeding1905
play method1914
playway1914
project method1916
active learning1919
study skills1924
skit1926
free activity1929
hypnopaedia1932
sleep-teaching1932
chalk and talk1937
show-and-tell1941
demo1945
naming of (the) parts1946
team teaching1949
teleteaching1953
programming1954
audio-lingualism1961
immersion1965
dem1968
open learning1970
suggestopaedia1970
suggestopedy1970
distance learning1972
fast-tracking1972
paideia1982
tutorial1984
m-learning2001
1932 A. Huxley Brave New World ii. 27 The principle of sleep-teaching, or hypnopædia, had been discovered.
1957 A. Huxley Let. 12 Dec. (1969) 837 A dictator..could, by the use of drugs, sleep-teaching, hypnosis, subliminal projection..establish a high degree of control over his subjects.
1970 Times 19 Sept. 13 In Russia more than 180 educational institutes..are now fully equipped for sleepteaching.
sleep-thorn n. [after Old Norse svefnþorn] in Scandinavian legend, a thorn imagined as inducing sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > that which induces sleep
lull1721
somnivolency1748
sleep-thorn1889
1889 R. B. Anderson tr. V. Rydberg Teutonic Mythol. 164 Castles, where goddesses pricked by sleep-thorns are slumbering.
sleep-trap n. a church-pew readily inducing sleep (nonce-word).
ΚΠ
1895 Daily Tel. 9 Aug. 5/3 These sleep-traps were in time superseded by high-backed pews.
sleep-waker n. a mesmerized or hypnotized person.
ΚΠ
1840 C. H. Townshend Facts in Mesmerism ii. iii. 224 I have..mesmerised, as it is called, a glass of water, half an hour before it was presented to the sleep-waker.
1844 E. A. Poe in Columbian Mag. Aug. 70/2 As the sleep-waker pronounced these latter words..I observed upon his countenance a singular expression.
1884 19th Cent. May 807 The sleep-waker will continue to listen and reply.
sleep-waking n. a mesmeric or hypnotic state.
ΚΠ
1840 C. H. Townshend Facts in Mesmerism ii. i. 47 Mesmeric Somnambulism, or, more properly, Sleepwaking.
1886 F. W. H. Myers in E. Gurney et al. Phantasms of Living I. Introd. p. xlii Induced somnambulism or the sleep-waking state.
ΚΠ
1562 W. Bullein Bk. Use Sicke Men f. lvv, in Bulwarke of Defence Sometime medicen is giuen to slepewarde, or before slepe.
sleep-wear n. night wear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > for specific purpose > nightwear
night-gear1560
nightclothes1567
nightdress?c1663
bed-apparel1822
nightwear1886
sleeping-suit1897
slumberwear1909
sleep-wear1935
sleepsuit1958
1935 A. P. Herbert What a Word! iv. 115 I have been implored by many to attack..‘sleep-wear’, and ‘swim-wear’.
1964 [see sleep-shorts n.]. 1979 N. Hynd False Flags xxiv. 213 You travel light... Just..some sleepwear.
Draft additions June 2006
sleep hygiene n. the maintenance of healthy and regular sleeping patterns.
ΚΠ
1899 Daily Herald (Delphos, Ohio) 6 June 3/5 Sleep hygiene: A sufficiency of rest repairs and strengthens; too much rest weakens and makes soft.
1982 Neurobiol. of Aging 3 321 Experimental strategies for achieving a rational sleep hygiene are discussed.
1996 Homemaker's Mag. (Toronto) Mar. 25/1 Dr. Victor Hoffstein..says sleep hygiene is the key to sweet dreams. That means having a consistent bedtime and a steady wake-up schedule.
Draft additions December 2013
sleep training n. (a) training which takes place during sleep (cf. sleep-learning n. at Compounds 4); (b) the action or process of training young children to fall asleep independently, (now) esp. by limiting intervention by caregivers (cf. controlled crying n. at controlled adj. Compounds).
ΚΠ
1922 World-Herald (Omaha, Nebraska) 5 Jan. 8/4 (heading) Sleep-Training... Waiting until the child is asleep the parent should creep into the room... Care must be taken not to waken a child, whose unconscious self, itself awake, will accept ‘what one wants to say to it’.
1933 M. H. Krout Major Aspects of Personality xii. 291 Methods of sleep training. a. Patting. b. Rocking. c. Singing d. Use of pacifier [etc.].
1961 Phylon 22 317 They may practice a kind of subliminal ‘sleep-training’.
1994 Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe 6 June 5/2 Proper sleep training can help teach a 4-month-old to nap through the night.
2011 A. Schafer Ain't Misbehavin' iii. 39 Tell your neighbors in advance that you are about to do some sleep training and it might be loud for a short spell.
Draft additions December 2013
sleep-train v. transitive to train (a child) to fall asleep independently; also intransitive.
ΚΠ
1997 Evening Standard 27 Feb. 28 The infant is being sleep-trained.
2006 C. Tobin Lull-a-baby Sleep Plan 90 I was scared to sleep train in case the baby cried and woke the neighbours.
2009 A. Sohn Prospect Park West 44 You couldn't look down on mothers who chose not to nurse or sleep-trained their children, because then you were a stereotype: a hippie, earth-loving Park Slope mom.
Draft additions June 2021
A power-conserving mode in an electronic device, esp. a computer, which allows functions to be restored quickly by avoiding full shutdown. Frequently as a modifier in sleep mode. Cf. standby n. 3a.
ΚΠ
1977 Hewlett-Packard Jrnl. Dec. 8/2 The arithmetic and register circuit in the HP-01 [digital wristwatch] can be put into a sleep mode to save power.
1978 Jrnl. Guidance & Control 1 189 The onboard flight computer came out of its low power ‘sleep’ mode.
1997 J. Seabrook Deeper iii. 68 I had put the computer in Sleep mode, and as she opened the wrapping I touched a key and it woke up.
2017 @TrashySindee 25 July in twitter.com (accessed 19 Jan. 2021) So I always put my computer on sleep so I can just turn it on easily the next morning.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sleepv.
/sliːp/, U.S. /slip/α. Old English slapan, Middle English slape, Middle English slapen. c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxiv. §11 Þonne we slapað.c893 tr. Orosius Hist. iv. vi. 178 Þæt he..slapan ne mehte.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvi. 45 Slapað..& restað eow.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xxii. 46 Hwi slape ge?c1100 Canterb. Ps. xl. 9 Se þe slapð.c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 7 Werie men is lief to slapen.c1350 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 145 Sum men in kirk slomers and slapes.a1400 Seuyn Sages (W.) 929 He..gan to slape.
β. Old English slæpan, Middle English slæpen, Middle English–1500s sleape. c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xlii Ne slæpð he næfre.971 Blickling Hom. 235 Swa he slæpende wære.c1000 Ælfric's Gr. (Z.) (Harl.) 211 Me lyste slæpan.c1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 45 Slæpeð..& resteð eow.c1160 Hatton Gosp. Luke xxii. 46 Hwi slæpe ge?c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 368 Leteð slæpen [c1300 Otho slepe] þene king.c1275 Laȝamon Brut 18409 Suþþe hii solle sleape.1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Somnus To sleape quietly.
γ. Old English slepan, Old English sleppan, Middle English sclep, Middle English sclepe, Middle English sclepen, Middle English scleppe, Middle English sleopen, Middle English slepen, Middle English slepyn, Middle English–1500s sleip (Scottish), Middle English–1500s sleipe (Scottish), Middle English–1500s slepe, Middle English–1600s sleepe, 1500s– sleep. c825 Vesp. Ps. lxvii. 14 Gif ge slepað.c825 Vesp. Ps. cxx. 4 Ne slepeð se.c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care lvi. 431 Swelce se stiora slepe.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. ix. 24 Þæt maiden..slepes.c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lxxv. 5 [Hi] ongunnon..georne slepan.c1100 Canterb. Ps. xliii. 23 Forwæn slepest þu?c1160 Hatton Gosp. Mark v. 39 Þis mæden..slepð.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12767 Agan ich forto slepe [c1300 Otho sleape].c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 485 In eorðe heo sleopeð.c1275 Prov. Ælfred 468 in Old Eng. Misc. 131 Litil sal he sclepen.a1300 Early Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter iv. 9 In pees..Sal i slepe.1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 344 We nolle sclepe in no sclowþe.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 459/1 Slepyn, dormio.c1450 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 41 What man in synne doth..scleppe.1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 347 Quhar he suld sleipe.1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Fiv/1 To Sleepe, dormire.1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 314 Quhen he sleipis.1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 46 He used to sleepe in the afternoones.
2. Past tense. a. Strong Old English sclep, Old English–Middle English slæp, Old English–Middle English sleap, Old English–Middle English slep, Middle English sleep, Middle English slepe, Middle English slepp, Middle English sliep, 1800s slape (dialect); also plural Old English slepan, Old English slepon, Old English slepun, Old English–Middle English slepen, Middle English slepe, Middle English slupen. The common dial. form slep is probably for slept.c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xv Hi slepon ute.971 Blickling Hom. 235 Se halga Andreas þa slep.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxv. 5 Hnappudon hig ealle & slepun [c1160 slepen].c1100 Canterb. Ps. lvi. 5 Ic slæp gedrefed.a1200 Vices & Virt. 51 He..reste and sliep.c1220 Bestiary 771 Ðre daies slep he.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12981 Þe eotende lai and slæp [c1300 Otho sleap].a1300 Havelok 2128 He slepen faste alle fiue.a1300 E.E. Psalter iii. 5 I slepe [v.r. slep] And I ras.1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. VIII. 227 He sleep in his studie.1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xvi. 272 Seuene slepen [v.r. slupen]. b. Weak.α. Old English slepde, Old English slypte, Old English–Middle English slæpte, Old English–1500s slepte, Middle English slapte, Middle English sleapte, 1500s– slept, 1600s slep'd. c825 Vesp. Ps. lxxv. 6 Hneapedun (vel slypton) slep heara.c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xvi. 101 Ða he æt ðæm stane slæpte.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke viii. 23 Rowundum..ðæm [he] slepde.c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 25 Þa hie..sleptun.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12988 Lai and slæpte [c1300 Otho sleapte].c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12787 Þer ich lai and slapte [c1300 Otho sleapte].1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 24 As Nabugodonosor slepte.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Gen. xli. A And he slepte agayne.1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 259 When we slept.1648 J. Beaumont Psyche vii. clxxxiv. 109 Our tender Flocks, which slep'd.
β. Middle English sleppet, Middle English sleppit, Middle English–1500s slepped. a1300 Cursor Mundi 2551 Abram..Slepped.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 3796 Ful soft..he sleppet þat niȝt.a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) ii. ix. sig. o.iiiiv As she slepped.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8225 He..sleppit euer after.
γ. Middle English sleped, Middle English–1500s slepit (Scottish), 1500s sleipet (Scottish), 1600s sleep'd, 1600s–1800s sleeped, 1800s sleepit (Scottish), 1800s sleept (dialect). a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6333 Þar he sleped þat morntide.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vii. 188 He slepit as foul on twist.1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 93 Thay..sleipet sound.1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) viii. xlvi. 108 When they wak'd and sleep'd.1765 Philos. Trans. 1764 (Royal Soc.) 54 18 He sleeped but indifferently.1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian viii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 171 When I sleepit ayont the hallan.a1843 R. Southey Doctor (1847) VII. 82 T' woman's Doughter sleept we' us.
3. Past participle.α. Middle English i-slepe, Middle English slepe, Middle English y-slape, Middle English y-slepe, 1800s slepen (dialect), 1800s sleppen (dialect), 1800s slippen (dialect). c1310 St. Brendan (Harl.) 130 Þo hi hadde alle islepe ynouȝ.c1330 Arth. & Merl. 2367 (Kölbing) He hadde litel yslape.1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 99 I wolde have leie and slepe stille.
β. Middle English i-sleped, Middle English i-slept, Middle English scleped, Middle English sclepyd, Middle English sleppit, Middle English slepyt (Scottish), Middle English–1500s sleped, Middle English– slept, 1800s slep (dialect). 1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. v. 4 Þat I nedde sadloker I-slept [v.r. slept, sleped].c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 12963 When thei hadde scleped.1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vi. l. 629 Quhen..the Scottis had slepyt.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 817 As he hade fast sleppit.1548 R. Hutten tr. J. Spangenberg Sum of Diuinitie sig. Rvijv Them..whych haue sleped.
Signification.
I. intransitive.
1. proverbial.1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) i. 13 b He which sleepeth with the dogges, must rise with the fleas.figurative.1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. i. sig. A2 Ere Sol had slept three nights in Thetis lap.1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice v. i. 109 Peace, how the moone sleepes with Endimion.
a. To take repose by the natural suspension of consciousness; to be in the state of sleep; to slumber. Also occasionally, to fall asleep. to sleep rough: see rough adv. Phrases 1; to sleep tight: see tight adv. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)]
sleepc825
swotherc1000
lib1567
peep1699
caulk1818
to pound one's ear (also pillow)1894
flop1907
to catch some z's1963
c825 Vesp. Psalter iii. 6 Ic hneappade & slepan ongon.
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xlii Symle he bið lociende, ne slæpð he næfre.
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) iii. ix. 186 Þa geswigade he semninga & his heafod onhylde, swa swa he slapan wolde.
971 Blickling Hom. 149 Þa æfter þon þa arison ealle þa þe þær slepan.
1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 1137 He ne myhte..sitten ne lien ne slepen.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1605 He..slep and sag an soðe drem.
c1386 G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale 168 She wolde noght been ydel til she slepte.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14206 If he mai slepe, hele es at hand.
a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 32 Aftir refetyng of mete and drink, he went into his bedde and sleped wele all þe niȝt.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 126/1 How many ben there..that slepen in the market place.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 721/1 He that drinketh well slepeth well, and he that slepeth well thynketh no harme.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. ii. 38 I tooke him sleeping..And the Athenian woman, by his side. View more context for this quotation
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. iii. v. 414 We are neuer better or freer from cares then when wee sleep.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 86 Nor do they ever sleep without their swords by their sides.
1746 P. Francis tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epistles i. xviii. 66 Strange Hopes and Projects fill his Breast; He sleeps 'till Noon.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 124 The feathers of this bird..make the softest and the warmest beds to sleep on.
1841 W. M. Thackeray Great Hoggarty Diamond xi I wonder whether the man sleeps easily and eats with a good appetite?
1880 Encycl. Brit. XI. 788 The tenrec..sleeps for three months in its burrow during the hottest period of the year.
b. Implying sexual intimacy or cohabitation. Also, with around: to engage in sexual intercourse casually with a variety of partners; to be sexually promiscuous (colloquial).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [verb (intransitive)] > be promiscuous
to play legerdeheel1605
to put it about1817
to do the (also a) naughty1902
to fool around1923
sleep1928
to play around1929
alleycat1937
to screw around1939
bed-hop1943
tom1950
horse1953
to whore it up1956
swing1964
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity [verb (intransitive)] > have sexual intercourse
playOE
to do (also work) one's kindc1225
bedc1315
couple1362
gendera1382
to go togetherc1390
to come togethera1398
meddlea1398
felterc1400
companya1425
swivec1440
japea1450
mellc1450
to have to do with (also mid, of, on)1474
engender1483
fuck?a1513
conversec1540
jostlec1540
confederate1557
coeate1576
jumble1582
mate1589
do1594
conjoin1597
grind1598
consortc1600
pair1603
to dance (a dance) between a pair of sheets1608
commix1610
cock1611
nibble1611
wap1611
bolstera1616
incorporate1622
truck1622
subagitate1623
occupya1626
minglec1630
copulate1632
fere1632
rut1637
joust1639
fanfreluche1653
carnalize1703
screw1725
pump1730
correspond1756
shag1770
hump1785
conjugate1790
diddle1879
to get some1889
fuckeec1890
jig-a-jig1896
perform1902
rabbit1919
jazz1920
sex1921
root1922
yentz1923
to make love1927
rock1931
mollock1932
to make (beautiful) music (together)1936
sleep1936
bang1937
lumber1938
to hop into bed (with)1951
to make out1951
ball1955
score1960
trick1965
to have it away1966
to roll in the hay1966
to get down1967
poontang1968
pork1968
shtup1969
shack1976
bonk1984
boink1985
a900 Laws Ælfred (Liebermann) Introd. §29 Gif hwa fæmnan beswice unbeweddode, and hire mid slæpe.
c1000 Ælfric Genesis xxxix. 7 His hlæfdige lufode hine and cwæð to him: Slap mid me!
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 967 Forð siðen ghe bi abram slep, Of hire leuedi nam ghe no kep.
c1386 G. Chaucer Sir Thopas 78 An elf queene shal my lemman be, And slepe vnder my goore.
a1400 Trevisa's Higden (Rolls) VII. 143 A clerk of þe court hadde i-sleped wiþ hire.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. iii. 15 Whilst she he loved was sleeping with his rival.
1898 Sessions Paper of Central Criminal Court Feb. 266 He has been sleeping with my wife. How would you like it?
1928 A. Huxley Point Counter Point xxvii. 445 ‘Sleeping around’—that was how he had heard a young American girl describe the amorous side of the ideal life, as lived in Hollywood.
1936 R. Lehmann Weather in Streets ii. 185 A child's out of the question now, they don't sleep together any more.
1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet ii. 92 All we want anyway is to keep her out of trouble until she gets old enough to sleep with a man without getting me and him both arrested.
1952 M. Laski Village xvi. 218 I don't think for a minute she's been sleeping around..but you know what gossip is.
1967 J. Potter Foul Play xiii. 161 He's only interested in George and Freda and whether Johnnie and Freda slept together.
1975 ‘P. Loraine’ Wrong Man in Mirror 78 Rose Maddox was not a loose girl; she did not sleep around with just anybody.
c. With upon or on (a matter), denoting the postponement of a decision till the following day.In modern use also with over in the same sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (intransitive)]
geleOE
studegieOE
abideOE
to do in or a (= on) fristc1175
dwellc1175
demurc1230
targec1250
dretcha1325
tarrya1375
sojourn1377
defer1382
letc1385
hinderc1386
blina1400
delay?a1400
honea1400
litea1400
overbidea1400
prolongc1425
supersede1433
hoverc1440
tarrowc1480
sunyie1488
stay?a1500
sleep1519
slack1530
protract1540
linger1548
procrastinate1548
slackc1560
slug1565
jauk1568
temporize1579
detract1584
longering1587
sit1591
prorogue1593
to time it out1613
to lie out1640
crastinate1656
taigle17..
to hang fire1782
to hold off1790
to hang it on1819
prevaricate1854
to lie over1856
to tread water1942
to drag one's feet1946
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (transitive)] > for later treatment or consideration
reservec1384
to put in suspense1421
resplait1447
to put in resplait1452
to leave over?c1475
sleep1519
refer1559
suspend1581
seposit1657
pigeonhole1840
shelve1847
table1849
pend1953
1519 in State Papers Henry VIII (1830) I. i. 3 His Grace..sayd thatt he wold slepe and drem apon the matter, and geff me an answer apon the mornyng.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xlii. xxv. 1129 I will sleepe upon it and bee well advised what to doe for the best.
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues (1713) iii. xl. 289 It will not be amiss to consult with one's Pillow, as the Proverb is, and sleep upon 't.
a1753 P. Drake Memoirs (1755) I. xvi. 161 The Countess..assured him, that she would not let them sleep upon it.
1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ix, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 256 The deil of ony master's face he shall see till he has sleepit and waken'd on't.
1889 J. A. Froude Two Chiefs Dunboy xiii. 185 Colonel Goring slept upon his problem, and woke the next morning resolute.
a1907 F. Thompson St. Ignatius Loyola (1909) x. 192 He discussed all measures with his brethren; and ever enjoined them to sleep on the matter, and pray the next morning before decision.
1926 V. McNabb Church & Land 83 My friend rose from his seat. ‘I see—we must do things ourselves. I must sleep on this.’
1959 S. Salton-Vane Black Whippet ii. 32 Sleep on it. Think it over, and come and see me early tomorrow morning.
1962 P. Gregory Like Tigress at Bay ix. 99 Let me think about it, though. I'd like to sleep on it.
1983 ‘W. Haggard’ Heirloom viii. 90 He simply looked at a problem hard and then slept on it.
d. In phrases denoting freedom from anxiety.
ΚΠ
a1640 P. Massinger Guardian ii. ii. 47 in 3 New Playes (1655) Sleep you Secure on either ear.
1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin ii. viii. 126 Doubt not a perfect cure:..I am secure that you may sleep on either side.
e. to sleep like a top (cf. 3c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > deeply or soundly
to sleep sounda1400
to sleep like a top1693
sleep1967
1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour i. i. 8 Should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a Top.
1793 Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 893/2 He sleeps like a top.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II cxxxiv. 186 Juan slept like a top, or like the dead.
f. With it: To spend one's time in sleep. Also with out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > spend one's time in
sleepa1652
a1652 R. Brome Queenes Exchange (1657) 111 We'l..have him put in bed before he wakes.., and there, When he has slept it out, he will perhaps Be cur'd.
1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. iv. 157 These have nothing to do but to sleep it.
g. With in: To sleep in the house, or on the premises, where one is employed (contrasted with ‘to sleep out’); also Nautical, to remain in one's berth all night; (originally Scottish) to oversleep; also, to lie in (to lie in 4 at lie v.1 Phrasal verbs), to sleep late.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > in a specific place
trucklea1625
trundlec1626
doss1785
sleep1827
to plank it1829
sleep1912
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > later than usual > too late
oversleepa1398
sleep1827
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > bed related to sleep or rest > go to bed or retire to rest [verb (intransitive)] > be in bed or lie > for certain period
stew1671
sleep1827
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > later than usual
sleep1740
to lie it out1748
sleep1827
to lie in1893
sleep1931
1827 C. I. Johnstone Elizabeth de Bruce I. iii. 56 Ye whiles sleep in on a morning.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast iii. 18 The steward..and..the cook..are allowed to ‘sleep in’ at night, unless all hands are called.
1883 W. Aitken Lays of Line 58 A'e mornin' last March, when Rab Black sleepit in.
1888 G. MacDonald Elect Lady 138 I had to be up early, and I was feared I would sleep-in.
1931 Amer. Speech 7 20 Sleep in, to sleep late. ‘I'm going to sleep in tomorrow.’
1931 D. L. Sayers Five Red Herrings i. 16 Shall I tell Mrs. McLeod to let you sleep in, as they say? And call you with a couple of aspirins on toast?
1935 Beaver Dec. 66/2 On Sundays the chief guide usually allows his voyageurs to sleep in, which means that instead of getting up at four o'clock they get up about six-thirty.
1967 E. Taylor Second Thursday ii. 31 Susan dear, you must have slept in this morning.
1975 J. Grady Shadow of Condor v. 90 Because he slept in and had an appointment, Malcolm excused himself from the exercises.
h. With in, in passive, of a bed. Also as ppl. adj.
ΚΠ
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xvi. 140 The bed ain't been slep in.
1859 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing viii. 45 I assure you the bed has been well slept in.
1939 W. Fortescue There's Rosemary xi. 79 We crawled up to our bedroom..and got under our bed-quilts, not between those slept-in sheets.
1966 N. Freeling King of Rainy Country 140 He..changed his slept-in suit.
1976 J. Crosby Snake (1977) xi. 53 She pulled the crinkly blue-and-white striped blouse as taut as she could..trying to make it look a little less slept-in.
i. With on: to continue sleeping, to sleep late.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > later than usual
sleep1740
to lie it out1748
sleep1827
to lie in1893
sleep1931
1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxxi. 267 I'll wake her, said I. No, don't, said she, let her sleep on; we shall lie better without her.
1939 ‘J. Bell’ Death at Half-Term v. 92 I let our lot sleep on, but the other four came over from the San, and woke them up.
1958 P. Scott Mark of Warrior i. ii. 44 In four hours Hussein would wake him... Esther would sleep on.
1969 J. Fraser Clap Hands iv. 48 Don't worry too much if he's not sleepy. I'll let him sleep on in the morning.
j. With over. †(a) to sleep late (Obsolete); (b) to spend the night at a place other than one's own residence (chiefly U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > later than usual
sleep1740
to lie it out1748
sleep1827
to lie in1893
sleep1931
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting temporarily > [verb (intransitive)] > overnight
liec1330
nighta1400
pausec1450
pernoctate1623
to stay over1884
overnight1891
sleep1975
1827 Harvard Reg. (1828) Sept. 202 They have indulged in the luxury of ‘sleeping over’.
1871 L. H. Bagg Four Years at Yale 570 On Sunday mornings, too, there is an unusual amount of ‘sleeping over’,—breakfast being often cut as well as chapel by the votaries of Morpheus.
1975 Sunday Advocate-News (Barbados) 15 June 7/2 The sleep-overs will be the night of the last Thursday of each session. On that night campers sleep-over if they choose to do so.
1977 D. Anthony Stud Game iii. 23 I begged him to sleep over... But he had an early appointment the next day.
1978 M. Puzo Fools Die xxviii. 331 Those were nights I'd hop a plane to Vegas for the evening, sleep over and come back in the early morning.
k. With out: to spend the night in the open air; also, to sleep away from the premises on which one is employed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > in a specific place > outdoors
to sleep (formerly also live, lie) rough1672
to lie out1712
sleep1852
society > occupation and work > working > [verb (intransitive)] > sleep away from work
sleep1912
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > in a specific place
trucklea1625
trundlec1626
doss1785
sleep1827
to plank it1829
sleep1912
1852 [implied in: Rep. Comm. Criminal & Destitute Juveniles App. iii. 427 in Parl. Papers VII. 389 It is his fourth committal; his offence being, ‘sleeping out’. (at sleeping n. c)].
1890 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads (1892) 4 ‘E's sleepin' out an' far to-night,’ the Colour-Sergeant said.
1908 R. Brooke Let. 18 Aug. (1968) 139 I should love to sleep out with nothing but a few extra socks on.
1912 in N.E.D. (at cited word) [sense 1g].
1936 ‘J. Tey’ Shilling for Candles xiv. 159 He might have been sleeping out, the first three nights. But you know what last night was like. Torrents... He must have found shelter.
1974 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ont.) 11 Jan. 7/1 There are more dossers sleeping out in London today than there were at the turn of the century.
l. Of a bed or mattress: to afford sleep of a specified quality.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > bed related to sleep or rest > go to bed or retire to rest [verb (intransitive)] > of a bed or mattress: be slept on
sleep1942
1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 83 This here pallet sleeps all right to me.
1977 Austral. House & Garden Jan. 115/1 A foam mattress is generally lighter, is non-allergenic and resists mildew... Foam sleeps cooler in warm temperatures, it is claimed, and warmer in cool temperatures.
m. With up: to catch up on one's sleep, to stop for a sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > catch up on
sleep1951
1951 Manch. Guardian Weekly 1 Feb. 3/3 The General..would say nothing more than that he was off for a rest. He headed..for the..hotel to sleep-up until Wednesday.
1968 Listener 11 July 50/2 It was..so full and exhausting..that, at the end of term..we used to sleep up for several days before venturing out onto the streets.
1968 in P. G. Hollowell Lorry Driver vii. 183 You want to give your mate a bit of a shaking up. What you do is to spot him ‘sleeping up’ and go quietly by him and turn your wagon round... Then hold your hands on the horn.
n. With through: esp. of a baby, to sleep uninterruptedly through a period of time, usually the night.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > deeply or soundly
to sleep sounda1400
to sleep like a top1693
sleep1967
1967 ‘L. Egan’ Nameless Ones i. 3 She's the most beautiful baby ever... Sleeping right through. God, when I think——.
1971 O. Norton Corpse-bird Cries ii. 33 I..slept through until nearly ten o'clock on Sunday morning.
1976 ‘J. Charlton’ Remington Set xx. 104 ‘Baby going to be all right in the guest room?’ ‘She'll sleep right through,’ Fran said.
2. figurative. To lie in death; to be at rest in the grave.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] > be dead
sleepc950
restOE
liea1000
to be deadc1000
to lie lowa1275
layc1300
to be gathered to one's fathersa1382
to be gathered to one's fathers1382
to sup with our Saviour, with Our (the) Lord, with (Jesus) Christa1400
repose1586
slumber1594
to sup in heaven or hell1642
to turn one's toes up to the daisies1842
to be out of the way1881
to push up daisiesa1918
to have had it1942
RIP1962
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 52 And byrgenna..untyned weron &..lichoma halga wæra ða ðe slepdon arison.
c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 566 Hwi sind ða deadan slapende gecwedene?.. Ealle hi moton slapan on ðam gemænelicum deaðe.
a1300 E.E. Psalter xii. 4 Ne euer þat I slepe in dede.
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 878 In pouder sal slepe ilk man, And wormes sal cover hym þan.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xiv. 18 Alle the kingus of Jentilis, eche slepten in glorie.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8225 He slode doun sleghly, & sleppit euer after.
1548 R. Hutten tr. J. Spangenberg Sum of Diuinitie R vij b Euen so wil god bring them wyth him whych haue sleped.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 164 The bodie sleipis, quhill Domisday.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 29 His owne people..buried him, where not a stones cast further, sleepes Tom Coriats bones.
1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 172 A Person is said to be dead to us,..though he only sleeps unto God.
1751 T. Gray Elegy iv. 6 Beneath those rugged elms..The rude Forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. i. ii. 11 Charlemagne sleeps at Salzburg, with truncheon grounded.
1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men I. Pref. p. xxviii He sleeps..in Holywell cemetery.
3. transferred.
a. Of limbs: To be numb, to be devoid of sensation, esp. as the result of pressure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > become physically insensible [verb (intransitive)] > by pressure
sleepa1000
a1000 Saxon Leechd. II. 66 Gif þeoh slapan, adelf nioþoweardne secg,..læt reocan on þæt lim þætte slape.
c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 490 Gif we to lange sittað, us slapað ða lima.
c1340 Nominale (Skeat) 595 For drede my fote slepith.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. Gg.vj In moyste wethers one of my fyngers slepeth.
1562 W. Turner Bk. Natures Bathes Eng. f. 3v, in 2nd Pt. Herball It is good for..suche membres as are num or slepe.
1895 ‘S. Tytler’ Macdonald Lass xvii. 208 Oh, to be walking there, though our feet were frozen and our fingers sleeping.
b. Of plants: To be in a quiescent or drooping condition. (Cf. sleep n. 5a.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by age or cycles > age or be defined by cyclical growth periods [verb (intransitive)] > be open or closed or inactive
sleep1797
watch1812
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage ix. iv. 843 There are hearbes which seeme to sleepe all night.]
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 274/2 Plants are said to sleep when the flowers or leaves are..folded together.
1837 P. Keith Bot. Lexicon 325 These positions are not the same in the case of all leaves that sleep... Simple leaves that sleep are affected in their totality.
1880 C. Darwin & F. Darwin Power of Movement in Plants 111 In all such cases the cotyledons may be said to sleep.
1899 G. Massee Text-bk. Plant Dis. 328 When this stage is reached the plant droops, or ‘sleeps’.
c. Of a top: (see quot. 1854).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > revolve or rotate [verb (intransitive)] > spin > with such velocity that motion imperceptible
sleep1854
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 245 A top sleeps when it moves with such velocity, and spins so smoothly, that its motion is imperceptible.
1879 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. (new ed.) I: Pt. i. §106 It is the case of a common spinning-top,..not sleeping upright, nor nodding.
4. figurative.
a. To be dormant, inert, inactive, inoperative, or quiescent. spec., to act as a sleeping partner (see sleeping adj. 5) or as a sleeper (sense 2d).Very common during the 19th cent. in various contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > be inactive [verb (intransitive)]
sleepc897
restOE
slumber1582
society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > run a business [verb (intransitive)] > act as sleeping partner
sleep1949
the world > action or operation > inaction > be inactive [verb (intransitive)] > remain inactive > as a spy, saboteur, etc.
sleep1975
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > spy, pry [verb (intransitive)] > act as sleeper
sleep1975
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care lvi. 431 Swa hit gebyreð ðæt ðæt mod slæpð ðæs ðe hit wacian sceolde, & wacað ðæs ðe hit slapan scolde.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 200 Hwen þe alde unwine sið vre skile slepi.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 25855 Let þi sin noght wit þe slepe.
a1400 Polit. Songs, Song of Husbandman (Camden) 152 Mi lond leye lith ant leorneth to slepe.
c1425 J. Lydgate Assembly of Gods 1258 For he demyd sewerly hys sorow shuld nat slepe.
a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. vi. xxviii. f. clxxxiii Not withstandynge yt this errour hath sleped thus longe,..these presumptuous heretykes now of dayes wolde renewe ye same.
1597 J. Skene De Verborum Significatione at Annexation Induring the time of the quhilk dissolution, the annexation ceases & sleepis.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 353 This title slept and lay as dead untill the time of King Edward the Second.
1650 E. Williams Virgo Triumphans 24 A man and a boy, if their hands be not sleeping in their pockets [etc.].
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 204 Violence can never longer sleep Than human passions please.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect ii. iv. 585 When any emotion not entirely wanting is yet allowed to sleep in the character.
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1875) III. 113 The restless enmity of the Angevin never slept.
1949 D. Leon Ruskin i. i. 8 Telford supplied adequate capital and otherwise ‘slept’ most gracefully.
1975 J. Hone Sixth Directorate ii. 48 Once they were sure the man was with the KGB..they had watched him... And no one had come near him... They assumed the man was sleeping.
b. Of business, etc.: To cease to go forward; to remain in the same state.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > be inactive [verb (intransitive)] > specifically of business, etc.
sleep1550
1550 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. I. 98 The said mater had slepit of langtyme.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxxi That tyme was the king occupyed with affaires of warre, and therfore the matter slept.
1649 in E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 165 There is a bussines hath slept some while in my hands, but I have not beene idle in itt.
1683 W. Temple Mem. in Wks. (1720) I. 380 That Matter slept for the present.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 297. ¶10 He should certainly never let his Narration sleep for the sake of any Reflections of his own.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. iv. 102 My suit should sleep there,..and with my suit my revenge.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xiii. 256 The question, having slept during eighteen years, was suddenly revived by the Revolution.
c. To rest peacefully and quietly; to remain calm, still, or motionless.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > quietness or tranquillity > be quiet or tranquil [verb (intransitive)]
sleep1600
slumber1770
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice v. i. 54 How sweet the moone-light sleepes vpon this banke. View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Dryden tr. G. Boccaccio Cymon & Iphigenia in Fables 553 The giddy Ship..stops, and sleeps again.
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 536 Then, all the world of waters sleeps again.
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey III. v. viii. 167 The blue..sea was sleeping beneath a cloudless sky.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond III. vii. 174 Past the river, on which a mist still lay sleeping.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. A sail sleeps when, steadily filled with wind, it bellies to the breeze.
5. figurative. To be careless, remiss, or idle; to live thoughtlessly or carelessly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > be careless or negligent [verb (intransitive)] > be careless or remiss
sleepa1387
laches1483
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 57 Ȝif eny..putteþ errour aȝenst us, he may take hede þat þe grete Homerus slepeþ somtyme.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxviij The duke of Yorke and his adherentes..determined..no lenger to slepe, in so waightie a businesse.
1630 P. Massinger Renegado i. i. sig. B2v So shall you find mee Most ready to assist you; Neither haue I Slept in your greate occasions.
1636 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae (new ed.) 1560 Then let us remove And sleepe no more in sleuth.
1706 F. Atterbury Serm. Guild-Hall Chapel in Serm. & Discourses (1766) II. 87 We sleep over our happiness, and want to be rouzed into a quick thankful sense of it.
II. transitive.† 7. To put off or delay; to disregard, pay no attention to. Also with out. Obsolete.† 8. To digest by means of sleep. Obsolete. rare.
6.
a. With cognate object: To take rest in, continue in (sleep). to sleep a dog-sleep: see dogsleep n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (transitive)]
sleepc825
slumber1749
to get one's head down1868
zizz1972
c825 Vesp. Ps. lxxv. 6 Hneapedun (vel slypton) slep heara.
a1300 E.E. Psalter lxxv. 5 Þai slepe þair napping.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. li. 39 Y shal drunkne them, that thei..slepen an euere durende slep.
c1475 Partenay 5463 He ther slepte no slepe, manly waked ryght.
1552 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) (at cited word) Whyle he dooeth sleape one sleape.
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xiii. 3 Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleepe of death. View more context for this quotation
1791 W. Cowper Retirem. 48 She left the cares of life behind, And slept as she would sleep her last.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 38 Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair xliii. 392 Sir Michael was sleeping the sleep of the just.
1897 T. Watts-Dunton Aylwin ix. vi Turning into bed, [I] slept my first peaceful sleep since my trouble.
1927 R. Lehmann Dusty Answer iii. i. 139 Jennifer's peaceful flushed countenance and regular breathing greeted her astonished senses. She was sleeping the sleep of the slightly intoxicated just.
1944 W. S. Maugham Razor's Edge vii. 276 Gray's conversation was composed of clichés... He never went to bed, but hit the hay, where he slept the sleep of the just.
1977 Lancashire Life Dec. 57/3 Tired and ready to go home, we went back to the river where Edith's father was still sleeping the sleep of the just.
b. to sleep a wink, usually with negative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > for a short time or lightly
napeOE
slumberc1220
sloomc1275
wink1412
to take (also catch, have, steal, etc.) a (also one's) napa1425
to sleep a wink1542
drowse1598
jouka1652
doze1693
snooze1789
snoozle1831
zizz1942
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 316 A good vigilaunt Consul..whiche never slept one wynke duryng..his Consulship.
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 260 Not one of us durst either sit downe, or sleepe one winke for very feare.
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 13 Nov. (1948) II. 411 I slept not a wink last night for hawking and spitting.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian ix, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 198 I shall not sleep a wink less sound.
1840 W. M. Thackeray Shabby Genteel Story ix He..did not sleep one single wink all night.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (transitive)]
forslowc888
eldc897
forsita940
gele971
lengOE
drilla1300
delayc1300
onfrestc1300
tarryc1320
jornc1330
dretchc1380
defer1382
forbida1387
to put offa1387
to put (also set) (something) in (or on) delaya1393
dilate1399
fordrawa1400
to put overc1410
latch?c1422
adjournc1425
prolongc1425
proloynec1425
rejournc1425
to put in respite1428
sleuthc1430
respitea1450
prorogue1453
refer1466
sleep1470
supersede1482
respectc1487
postpone1496
overseta1500
respett1500
enjourna1513
relong1523
retract1524
tarde1524
track1524
to fode forth1525
tract1527
protract1528
further1529
to make stay of1530
surcease1530
prorogate1534
to fay upon longc1540
linger1543
retard?1543
slake1544
procrastine1548
reprieve1548
remit1550
suspense1556
leave1559
shiftc1562
suspend1566
procrastinate1569
dally1574
post1577
to hold off1580
drift1584
loiter1589
postpose1598
to take one's (own) timea1602
flag1602
slug1605
elong1610
belay1613
demur1613
tardya1616
to hang up1623
frist1637
disjourn1642
future1642
off1642
waive1653
superannuate1655
perendinate1656
stave1664
detard1675
remora1686
to put back1718
withhold1726
protract1737
to keep over1847
to hold over1853
laten1860
to lay over1885
hold1891
back-burner1975
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > be slow in performing [verb (transitive)] > be backward or dilatory to do something
forsita940
sleuthc1430
sleep1470
suspend1581
1470 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 560 I pray yow let not thys mater be slept.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cclxi. 385 So these companyons..slept nat their purpose, but rode in a day and a night.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. cxxiij These valeaunt capitaines, not myndyng to slepe their busines, enuironed the toune with a strong siege.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxiii. xiv. 482 They might not sleepe their affaires and go slowly about their businesse.
1624 T. Heywood Γυναικεῖον iv. 179 To persuade men to too much remisnes in wincking at and sleeping out the adulteries of their wives.
1792 T. Paine Writ. (1895) III. 79 It appeared to me extraordinary that any body of men..should commit themselves so precipitately, or ‘sleep obedience’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > digest [verb (transitive)]
seetheOE
defy1362
fyc1390
brookc1400
convertc1400
enduec1430
sleep1481
digest1483
concoct1533
decoct1541
diger?1541
confect1578
coque1615
concorporate1656
coct1662
swage1768
stomach1822
digerate-
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (transitive)] > achieve a specific purpose by sleeping
sleep1481
sleep1565
sleep1761
slumber1829
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 59 Is your bely ful?..haue ye slepte your dyner?
9.
a. With off or †out: To get rid of, remove the effects of, by sleeping.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (transitive)] > achieve a specific purpose by sleeping
sleep1481
sleep1565
sleep1761
slumber1829
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > get or be rid of > specifically a thing > by sleeping
sleep1565
sleep1761
1552 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Edormire crapulam, to sleape out a surfet.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iii. 30 For the life to come, I sleepe out the thought of it. View more context for this quotation
1761 C. Johnstone Chrysal (ed. 2) II. i. xi. 79 He had scarce slept off his debauch.
1780 Mirror No. 106 Thus were Clavius's nights spent in getting intoxicated, and his mornings in sleeping off that intoxication.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond III. viii. 191 In the morning after he had slept his wine off, he was very gay.
1871 G. Meredith Harry Richmond I. xiii. 211 This piece of nonsense helped us to sleep off our gloom.
b. With away: To remove, get rid of, lose, or waste by sleeping.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > loss > lose [verb (transitive)] > in specific way
sleep1565
to blunder away1801
to bargain away1866
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (transitive)] > achieve a specific purpose by sleeping
sleep1481
sleep1565
sleep1761
slumber1829
the mind > possession > relinquishing > squandering or prodigality > squander [verb (transitive)] > by sleeping
sleep1565
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > get or be rid of > specifically a thing > by sleeping
sleep1565
sleep1761
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Crapula To vomitte or sleape away his dronkennesse.
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iii. sig. I2v Thou art ill aduisde, To sleepe, away, what, thou art warnd to watch.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Qqq/2 To sleep his Head-ake away.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Qqq/3 To sleep away Sorrow.
a1716 South in Chambers Cycl. Eng. Lit. (1844) I. 444/1 He..may possibly go to bed with a wonderful stock of good-nature over-night, but then he will sleep it all away again before the morning.
1816 W. Scott Black Dwarf xiv, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. I. 267 I am tired of a party that does nothing but form bold resolutions over night, and sleep them away with their wine before morning.
1828 H. Blunt Lect. Hist. Jacob (1832) 160 He will no more permit his children..to sleep away their souls, than..to sin them away.
c. reflexive. To make (oneself) sober by sleeping. Also simply, to sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (reflexive)] > specific
oversleepa1450
couchc1550
sleep1565
compose oneself to sleep1709
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (reflexive)]
sleep1888
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Crapula To sleape him selfe sober.
1619 R. Harris Drunkards Cup 19 Hee hath slept himselfe sober.
1720 Hist. Life & Adventures D. Campbell v. §2 Whensoever he is drunk and has slept himself sober.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. viii. 145 He retreated down to his own den to conclude his lamentations, or to sleep himself sober.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 25 Oct. 3/2 [The cats] philosophically slept themselves through the two exhibition days.
10.
a. With out or away: To pass or spend (a certain time) in sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (transitive)] > for a period of time
sleep1565
outsleep1608
sleep1623
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)] > in some activity > in sleep or dreaming
sleep1565
to dream away1600
sleep1623
doze1693
drowse1843
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Edormiscere To sleape out one sleape.
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) v. iii. 67 Shamefull hate sleepes out the afternoone. View more context for this quotation
1649 J. Taylor Wandering 20 There I sleeped out the later end of the whole Moneth of Iuly.
1768 C. Beatty Jrnl. Two Months' Tour 37 Sleeped and waked the night away as well as we could.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 178 When a pair of men went under-ground formerly, they made it a rule, to sleep out a candle, before they set about their work.
b. Without adverb. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (transitive)] > for a period of time
sleep1565
outsleep1608
sleep1623
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)] > in some activity > in sleep or dreaming
sleep1565
to dream away1600
sleep1623
doze1693
drowse1843
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII Epil. 3 Some come to take their ease, And sleepe an Act or two. View more context for this quotation
1647 T. Shepard Day-breaking of Gospell 17 None of them slept Sermon or derided Gods messenger.
1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 77 These Birds, which sleep the Winter.
c. In nonce-uses (see quots.).
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) ii. ii. 184 We did sleepe day out of countenaunce. View more context for this quotation
1650 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans 54 Yet, never sleep the Sun up.
11. To cause to sleep or fall asleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (transitive)] > put to or cause to sleep
swevec725
to fall, lull, lay (bring obs.) asleepa1500
slumber?1533
soporate1623
insomniatea1657
to get off1836
sleepa1843
a1843 R. Southey Common-place Bk. (1851) 4th Ser. 402/2 He was in such pain that the doctors sleeped him to death.
1850 R. G. Latham Eng. Lang. (ed. 3) xvii. 445 When we say, the opiate slept the patient, meaning thereby, lulled to sleep.
1862 B. Hemyng in H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) Extra vol. 245/2 My husband..can't do nothink but give the babies a dose of ‘Mother's Blessing’ (that's laudanum, sir, or some sich stuff) to sleep 'em when they's squally.
1923 Daily Mail 24 Feb. 7 A gasworks foreman..said that at present the gas included 13 per cent of carbon monoxide... ‘One per cent is sufficient to kill. It sleeps you to death.’
12. To provide with sleeping accommodation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (transitive)] > provide with sleeping accommodation
sleep1848
society > inhabiting and dwelling > providing with dwelling > [verb (transitive)] > afford accommodation to (of place) > for sleeping
sleep1884
1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (at cited word) She could eat fifty people in her house, but could not sleep half the number.
1883 Gringo & Greaser (Manzano, New Mexico) 1 Sept. 2/1 If we can find some other philanthropist who will kindly hash, beer and sleep us, we'll be there.
1884 Local Govt. Chron. 8 Mar. 181 The new Patent Sanitary Hammock is superseding every other mode of sleeping Vagrants.
1895 Sun 29 Dec. 3/3 The parents, owing to poverty, had to sleep their children in the same bed as themselves.
1919 H. L. Mencken Amer. Lang. i. 24 A sleeping-car sleeps thirty passengers.
1941 W. A. Percy Lanterns on Levee i. 12 Welcome, messieurs, I can eat you but I cannot sleep you.
1949 Spectator 11 Nov. 631/2 During August some hotels were sleeping four or five guests to a room.
1965 E. O'Brien August is Wicked Month xi. 113 Oh we got beds, we can sleep..eighty.
1977 Western Mail (Cardiff) 5 Mar. 10/7 (advt.) Farmhouse holiday flat. Sleeps six.
Compounds
See also sleep-in n. and adj., sleep-out n. and adj., sleepover n. and adj.
sleep-away adj. U.S. at which one sleeps away from home.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting temporarily > [adjective] > overnight > involving staying overnight
sleepover1974
sleep-away1976
1976 Woman's Day (N.Y.) Nov. 244/2 Diana is told she must go to a sleep-away camp because the doctor says she needs more exercise.
1978 Chicago June 157/2 All the sleep-away camps have separate living quarters for boys and girls, but the tennis itself is mixed.
Draft additions June 2016
to sleep with the fishes: to die or be dead, esp. in a body of water; spec. to have been murdered and had one's corpse disposed of in a body of water. Also figurative.Popularized in later use by the 1972 American film The Godfather (see quot. 1972).
ΚΠ
1821 tr. Homer Iliad II. xxi. 275 Achilles..cast him to be carried along by the river, and..addressed to him these winged words: ‘Lie there now among the fishes’ [Gk. ἐνταυθοῖ νῦν κεῖσο μετ᾽ ἰχθύσιν].]
1836 E. Spencer Sketches Germany & Germans II. xv. 51 The deluded peasants..forcibly put to flight the magician himself, vowing, with imprecations, if he repeated the visit, they would send him to sleep with the fishes.
1905 Search-light 15 July 13/3 After her at full speed hurried the torpedo boat ‘Smetilvy’, manned by a crew of officers and faithful blue jackets, and pledged to send the rebels to sleep with the fishes.
1972 in M. Puzo & F. F. Coppola Godfather (transcript from film) in J. M. Jones Annotated Godfather (2007) 94 Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.
1979 N.Y. Times 25 May c17/1 Are there any survivors of the wreck? If so, they've either been rescued already or they're sleeping with the fishes.
1994 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 24 July 5 ‘Power Rangers’ is five times as popular, so Barney [i.e. the character in the U.S. children's television programme Barney & Friends] sleeps with the fishes if the two shows were ever on at the same time.
2001 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 24 June (Mag.) 9/1 The FBI informant that Tony had to clip, sending him to sleep with the fishes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.c825v.c825- ornithogalums
- ornithogean
- ornithogeographic
- ornithogeographical
- ornithogeography
- ornithoid
- ornitholestes
- ornitholeucism
- ornitholite
- ornitholitic
- ornithologer
- ornithologic
- ornithological
- ornithologically
- ornithologies
- ornithologist
- ornithologists
- ornithologize
- ornithology
- ornithomancy
- ornithomantic
- ornithomantist
- ornithomelanism
- ornithomimid
- ornithomimides