Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Sleep

Sleep

,
obs.
imp.
of Sleep. Slept.
Chaucer.

Sleep

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Slept
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sleeping
.]
[OE.
slepen
, AS.
sl[GREEK]pan
; akin to OFries.
sl[GREEK]pa
, OS.
slāpan
, D.
slapen
, OHG.
slāfan
, G.
schlafen
, Goth.
sl[GREEK]pan
, and G.
schlaff
slack, loose, and L.
labi
to glide, slide,
labare
to totter. Cf.
Lapse
.]
1.
To take rest by a suspension of the voluntary exercise of the powers of the body and mind, and an apathy of the organs of sense; to slumber.
Chaucer.
Watching at the head of these that
sleep
.
Milton.
2.
Figuratively:
(a)
To be careless, inattentive, or uncouncerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly.
We
sleep
over our happiness.
Atterbury.
(b)
To be dead; to lie in the grave.
Them also which
sleep
in Jesus will God bring with him.
1 Thess. iv. 14.
(c)
To be, or appear to be, in repose; to be quiet; to be unemployed, unused, or unagitated; to rest; to lie dormant;
as, a question
sleeps
for the present; the law
sleeps
.
How sweet the moonlight
sleep
upon this bank!
Shakespeare

Sleep

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To be slumbering in; – followed by a cognate object;
as, to
sleep
a dreamless sleep
.
Tennyson.
2.
To give sleep to; to furnish with accomodations for sleeping; to lodge.
[R.]
Blackw. Mag.
To sleep away
,
to spend in sleep;
as,
to sleep away
precious time
.
–
To sleep off
,
to become free from by sleep;
as,
to sleep off
drunkeness or fatigue
.

Sleep

,
Noun.
[AS.
slǣp
; akin to OFries.
slēp
, OS.
slāp
, D.
slaap
, OHG.
slāf
, G.
schlaf
, Goth.
slēps
. See
Sleep
,
Verb.
I.
]
A natural and healthy, but temporary and periodical, suspension of the functions of the organs of sense, as well as of those of the voluntary and rational soul; that state of the animal in which there is a lessened acuteness of sensory perception, a confusion of ideas, and a loss of mental control, followed by a more or less unconscious state.
“A man that waketh of his sleep.”
Chaucer.
O
sleep
, thou ape of death.
Shakespeare
☞ Sleep is attended by a relaxation of the muscles, and the absence of voluntary activity for any rational objects or purpose. The pulse is slower, the respiratory movements fewer in number but more profound, and there is less blood in the cerebral vessels. It is susceptible of greater or less intensity or completeness in its control of the powers.
Sleep of plants
(Bot.)
,
a state of plants, usually at night, when their leaflets approach each other, and the flowers close and droop, or are covered by the folded leaves.
Syn. – Slumber; repose; rest; nap; doze; drowse.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sleep

SLEEP

,
Verb.
I.
pret. and pp. slept.
1.
To take rest by a suspension of the voluntary exercise of the powers of the body and mind. The proper time to sleep in during the darkness of night.
2.
To rest; to be unemployed; to be inactive or motionless; as, the sword sleeps in its sheath.
3.
To rest; to lie or be still; not to be noticed or agitated. The question sleeps for the present.
4.
To live thoughtlessly. We sleep over our happiness.
5.
To be dead; to rest in the grave for a time. I Thess. 4.
6.
To be careless, inattentive or unconcerned; not be vigilant.

SLEEP

,
Noun.
That state of an animal in which the voluntary exertion of his mental and corporeal powers is suspended, and he rests unconscious of what passes around him, and not affected by the ordinary impressions of external objects. Sleep is generally attended with a relaxation of the muscles, but the involuntary motions, as respiration and the circulation of the blood, are continued. The mind is often very active in sleep; but its powers not being under the control of reason, its exercises are very irregular. Sleep is the natural rest or repose intended by the Creator to restore the powers of the body and mind, when exhausted or fatigued.

Similar Results