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slumber

[sluhm-ber]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to sleep, especially lightly; doze; drowse.
  2. to be in a state of inactivity, negligence, quiescence, or calm: Vesuvius is slumbering.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to spend or pass (time) in slumbering (often followed by away, out, or through): to slumber the afternoon away.
  2. to dispel or forget by slumbering (often followed by away): to slumber cares away.
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noun
  1. Sometimes slumbers. sleep, especially light sleep.
  2. a period of sleep, especially light sleep.
  3. a state of inactivity, quiescence, etc.
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Origin of slumber

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English slumeren, frequentative of slumen to doze, derivative of Old English slūma sleep (see -er6); compare German schlummern; (noun) Middle English slomur, slomber, derivative of the v.
Related formsslum·ber·er, nounslum·ber·less, adjectiveun·slum·ber·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for slumberless

Historical Examples

  • After a day of wild panic and slumberless nights the citizens remained at their windows.

    The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915

    Various

British Dictionary definitions for slumberless

slumber

verb
  1. (intr) to sleep, esp peacefully
  2. (intr) to be quiescent or dormant
  3. (tr foll by away) to spend (time) sleeping
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noun
  1. (sometimes plural) sleep
  2. a dormant or quiescent state
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Derived Formsslumberer, nounslumberless, adjective

Word Origin

Old English slūma sleep (n); related to Middle High German slummeren, Dutch sluimeren
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for slumberless

slumber

v.

mid-14c. alteration of slumeren (mid-13c.), frequentative form of slumen "to doze," probably from Old English sluma "light sleep" (cf. Middle Dutch slumen, Dutch sluimeren, German schlummern "to slumber"). Frequentative on the notion of "intermittent light sleep." For the -b-, cf. number, lumber, chamber, etc. Related: Slumbered; slumbering.

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slumber

n.

mid-14c., from slumber (v.). Slumber party first recorded 1942. Slumberland is from 1875.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper