Where does “sleepwrite” come from?
sleepwrite (English) comes from English write, from Middle English writen, from Old English wrītan, from Proto-West Germanic wrītan, from Proto-Germanic wrītaną, from Proto-Indo-European wēr-, from Proto-Indo-European wer- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.
sleepwrite (English): To write in one's sleep
Definitions
- To write in one's sleep
Ancestry of “sleepwrite”, step by step
sleepwrite traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English write
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | write | To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in... |
| 2 | Middle English | writen | To write draw letters on paper to form words; note the following common specialised senses |
| 3 | Old English | wrītan | to incise, engrave; to scratch, carve, write; to... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | wrītan | to scratch, to carve |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wrītaną | to scratch, carve; to engrave, inscribe, write |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |
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 |