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Added 8 October 2026

slumber

/ˈslʌm.bə/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about slumber at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended.
he didn't get enough sleep last night
A dormant or quiescent state.

verb

Be asleep.

Origin

From Middle English slombren, slomren, frequentative of Middle English slummen, slumen (“to doze”), probably from Middle English slume (“slumber”), from Old English slūma, from Proto-Germanic *slūm- (“slack, loose, limp, flabby”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lew- (“loose, limp, flabby”). Cognate with West Frisian slommerje, slûmerje (“to slumber”), Dutch sluimeren (“to slumber”), German schlummern (“to slumber, doze”), Swedish slummer (“to slumber”). By surface analysis, sloom + -er.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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