siesta
[see-es-tuh]
- a midday or afternoon rest or nap, especially as taken in Spain and Latin America.
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Origin of siesta
1645–55; < Spanish < Latin sexta (hōra) the sixth (hour), midday
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for siesta
Contemporary Examples
How can anyone go home for a three-course meal and a siesta in the midst of peak trading?
Historical Examples
"They're going into the Saint's Pool to have a siesta," said Vere.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
I'm afraid to speak to the servants—they are making the siesta.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
I went to keep her company by her bedside after I had taken my siesta.
The Memoires of Casanova, CompleteJacques Casanova de Seingalt
Most of our party slept the siesta, and at about four oʼclock we called at the Palace.
The Philippine IslandsJohn Foreman
We happened to reach it when the prisoners were having a siesta.
A Journey Through France in War TimeJoseph G. Butler, Jr.
siesta
- a rest or nap, usually taken in the early afternoon, as in hot countries
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Word Origin
C17: from Spanish, from Latin sexta hōra the sixth hour, that is, noon
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for siesta
n.
"mid-day nap," 1650s, from Spanish siesta, from Latin sexta (hora) "sixth (hour)," the noon of the Roman day (coming six hours after sunrise), from sexta, fem. of sextus "sixth" (see Sextus).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper