Meanings
present singular third person besleeps · participle present besleeping · participle past beslept · past beslept
- ambitransitivearchaicreflexiveTo sleep; have a sleep; sleep with.
He knows the last but whom the god beslept.
1973, Georg Peter Landmann, Stefan George in fremden Sprachen2 more examples
Others are going about our streets, like well-meaning but beslept watchmen, calling the hours of midnight, while the morning is paling their lanterns.
1859, George Gilfillan, The poets and poetry of the BibleHe still beslept himself as we passed; he being a slumbersome person.
1926, Blanche Colton Williams, Best American stories
Origin
- Old Englishbeslǣpan“to sleep, sleep through, sleep over”
- Middle Englishbeslepen
- Englishbesleep
From Middle English beslepen, from Old English beslǣpan (“to sleep, sleep through, sleep over”), equivalent to be- + sleep. Compare West Frisian besliepe (“to sleep with”), Dutch beslapen (“to sleep with”), German beschlafen (“to lay with”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
besleep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besleep
“besleep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besleep. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “besleep,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besleep.
Source: besleep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.