Where does “slapen” come from?
slapen (Low German) comes from Middle Low German slāpen, from Old Saxon slapan, from Proto-Germanic *slāpan, from Proto-Germanic slēpaną, from Proto-Indo-European slab- — to be weak, be languid; be weak, limp, languid.
slapen (Low German): to sleep
Ancestry of “slapen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | slāpen | — |
| 2 | Old Saxon | slapan | to sleep |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | *slāpan | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | slēpaną | to sleep |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | slab- | to be weak, be languid; be weak, limp, languid |