Etymologically
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sommeil

Etymology and origin of the French word sommeil

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1138, Gaimar (summeil)
Inherited from
Latin somniculus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (somnus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɔ.mɛj/[1]

Forms

sommeil m (plural sommeils)[1] Old French summeil (about 1138), sumeil, someil (about 1150); sommeil about 1160 (Benoît de Sainte-Maure).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sumeil, inherited from Late Latin somniculus (“light sleep, short sleep”), a diminutive of Latin somnus (“sleep”).[5][2][4][3][6] “Somnus”, like sopor, goes back to the Indo-European word for sleep, “*swop-no-”, seen in Sanskrit स्वप्न (svápna, “sleep, dream”) and, with other vowels, in Ancient Greek ὕπνος (húpnos, “sleep”) and Old Church Slavonic сънъ (sŭnŭ).[2][7][1] Latin replaced the old verb of that root with dormiō (see dormir).[2]

Compare Italian sonno, Spanish sueño, Portuguese sono and Romanian somn, which continue “somnus”.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Geffrei Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis (about 1138–40) has sumeil for the state of someone sleeping.[5][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Wace (about 1155) uses it for the need to sleep, as in avoir sommeil.[3] From the 16th century it entered many phrases: sommeil éternel “death” (Du Bellay, before 1559), le sommeil de la mort (Sacy, 1672), premier sommeil (about 1624) and sommeil de plomb (Académie, 1835).[3][8][2] Figuratively it is a state of inactivity: en sommeil “dormant”.[7] Medicine has maladie du sommeil “sleeping sickness” (Littré, 1872).[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1138 – Summeil, Gaimar.[3][4]
  • c. 1155 – The need to sleep, Wace.[3]
  • c. 1160 – Sommeil, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[3]
  • before 1559 – Sommeil éternel, Du Bellay.[3]
  • 1835 – Sommeil de plomb, Académie.[3]
  • 1872 – Maladie du sommeil, Littré.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. sleep: un sommeil profond, sommeil de plomb, trouble du sommeil.[7][1]
  2. Sleepiness: avoir sommeil, tomber de sommeil.[1][3]
  3. (figurative) Inactivity: en sommeil, dormant, (literary) le dernier sommeil, death.[7][3]
  4. Maladie du sommeil: sleeping sickness.[5]

Word family

  • sommeiller
  • ensommeillé
  • demi-sommeil
  • somme
  • somnoler
  • somnifère
  • insomnie
  • Latin somnus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 88b
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Sommeil.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/sommeil. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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