Where does “sleepwalking” come from?
Sleepwalking combines English sleep, from Middle English slepen and Old English slǣpan, with English walk, from Proto-Germanic walkōną, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European wel-.
sleepwalking (English): The act of walking while not conscious or aware...
Definitions
- The act of walking while not conscious or aware...
Ancestry of “sleepwalking”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sleepwalk | To walk and/or perform other actions while... |
| 2 | English | sleep | To rest in a state of reduced consciousness; To... |
| 3 | Middle English | slepen | to sleep; to become asleep, to cause to sleep; to... |
| 4 | Old English | slǣpan | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | slāpan | to sleep |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | slēpaną | to sleep |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | slab- | to be weak, be languid; be weak, limp, languid |