Where does “sleepover” come from?
Sleepover combines English sleep, from Middle English slepen and Old English slǣpan meaning "to recline," with over, from Proto-Germanic slēpaz and ultimately Proto-Indo-European upér and upo meaning "over" or "above."
sleepover (English): The act of spending the night as a guest in...
Definitions
- The act of spending the night as a guest in...
Ancestry of “sleepover”, step by step
sleepover traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English over
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | over | Discontinued; ended or concluded; Thoroughly;... |
| 2 | Middle English | over | riverbank, seashore, brink |
| 3 | Old English | ōfer | riverbank, seashore, brink, edge, margin, border |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | obar | over, above |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | uber | over; over, above |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
via English sleep
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sleep | To rest in a state of reduced consciousness; To... |
| 2 | Middle English | slepen | to sleep; to become asleep, to cause to sleep; to... |
| 3 | Old English | slǣpan | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | slāpan | to sleep |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | slēpaną | to sleep |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | slab- | to be weak, be languid; be weak, limp, languid |