asleep English · revision 5703

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1154}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈsliːp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English aslepe, o slepe,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Old English on slǣpe “in sleep”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) formed [[af|en|a-|sleep]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) The parallel form on sleep continued until about 1550.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In a state of sleep: 1154 in the OED, about 1200 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Into a state of sleep, as in ''to fall asleep'', is from before 1300.^(OED 1989) In religious writing it was used for “dead” from the late 13th century, 1297 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Inattentive or off guard is from the mid-14th century, which led to ''asleep at the switch'' (1906).^(Etymonline) Of limbs, numb from stopped circulation, is from the late 14th century, 1398 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Inactive or dormant in a wider sense is from 1590.^(OED 1989) In East Anglia, sails are asleep when steadily filled with wind, and in Yorkshire and Cornwall a spinning top is asleep when it turns too fast to see.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1154 – sleeping.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1297 – dead.^(OED 1989)

+ * a1300 – ''to fall asleep''.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-14th century – off guard.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1398 – of a limb, numb.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590 – dormant.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1906 – ''asleep at the switch''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[sleeping|alt=Sleeping]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Inactive or not [[alert]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a limb, [[numb]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(euphemistic)'' [[dead|alt=Dead]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Into sleep: ''to fall asleep''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[half-asleep]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sleep]]

+ * [[awake]]

+ * [[a-]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}