slumber

Meanings

Noun

• A very light state of sleep, almost awake.
• A state of ignorance or inaction.

Verb

• To be in a very light state of sleep, almost awake.
• To be inactive or negligent.
• To lay to sleep.
• To stun; to stupefy.

Origin

• From Middle English slombren, slomren, frequentative of Middle English slummen, slumen, probably from Middle English slume, from Old English slūma, from Proto-Germanic *slūm- ("slack, loose, limp, flabby"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lew-, equivalent to sloom + -er. Cognate with West Frisian slommerje, slûmerje, Dutch sluimeren, German schlummern.