slumber

Meaning

Noun

1. A very light state of sleep, almost awake.
2. (figuratively) A state of ignorance or inaction.
3. (rare) The snooze button on an alarm clock.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To be in a very light state of sleep, almost awake.
2. (intransitive) To be inactive or negligent.
3. (obsolete, transitive) To lay to sleep.
4. (obsolete, transitive) To stun; to stupefy.

Synonyms

sleep

😴

doze

drowse

nap

drowsiness

snooze

kip

fall asleep

rest

catnap

log Z’s

be asleep

somnolence

catch some Z’s

repose

nod off

sopor

be dead

zizz

oneirism

rest in a state of sleep

beddy-bye

oscitance

sleep tight

microsleep

sleep-tight

crash

dozing

dream

😴💭

go to bed

hay

hibernate

lethargy

relax

roost

shut-eye

sleepiness

sleeping

😴

feel drowsy

half asleep

Translations

dormitar

schlummern

sluimeren

dormicchiare

somnoler

sommeil

😴

dormire

😴

druilen

dutten

Schlummer

sommeiller

dormir

😴

sopore

dormir

😴

dormiveglia

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈslʌm.bə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: slombren

Cognate with Western Frisian: slommerje

Cognate with Dutch: sluimeren

Cognate with German: schlummern

Cognate with Swedish: slummer

In summary

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