somnambulist

[som-nam-byuh-list, suhm-]

noun

1. a person who walks around, eats, or performs other motor acts while asleep; sleepwalker.

   I have slept on the march like a somnambulist, and I have slept standing up like a horse.

2. a person who seems to act without awareness, feeling, aim, or will.

   Most people go through much of their lives as somnambulists, unaware of themselves and unquestioning of their environment.

Other Word Forms

• somnambulistic adjective
• semisomnambulistic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of somnambulist¹

First recorded in 1780–90; somn- ( def. ) + Latin ambul- ( amble ( def. ) ) + -ist ( def. )