sleepy
adjective
- being tired or close to falling asleep
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈsliːpi/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).
- Tired; feeling the need for sleep.
“She wak'd her sleepy crew.”
- Suggesting tiredness.
“At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorations as the tree had recovered from the collision.”
- Tending to induce sleep.
“a sleepy drink or potion”
“[T]he yong L. Roger Mortimer, […] hauing corrupted his Keepers, or (as ſome others vvrite) hauing potioned them vvith a ſleepy drinke, eſcaped out of the Tovver of London, getting ouer clearely vvithout any empeachment into France.”
- Dull; lazy.
“'Tis not sleepy business; But must be looked to speedily and strongly.”
- Quiet; without bustle or activity.
“a sleepy English village”
“Experts believe a pandemic welfare programme for poorer Brazilians has encouraged robbers to plan bold raids in sleepy regional cities where bank branches are storing more cash.”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).
- The gum that builds up in the eye; sleep, gound.
“"Did he always leave the sleepy in his eyes?" "Never removed it; let it build up in the comers of his eyes over the weeks until it was heavy enough to fall […]”
“But the nightdress was heavy, the sleepy in her eyes was heavy, her hair (she made a mustache of one of its locks) was heavy and smelled of cigarettes […]”
- Shingleback.