forsleep

F4O1R1S1L1E1E1P3

verb

To be overcome with sleep.

OriginMiddle English forslepen →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

verbforsleep (third-person singular simple present forsleeps, present participle forsleeping, simple past and past participle forslept)

present singular third person forsleeps · participle present forsleeping · participle past forslept · past forslept

  1. archaicintransitiveTo be overcome with sleep.
  2. archaictransitiveTo neglect through sleep or by sleeping; sleep through; oversleep; sleep off.

    At this moment, Giulietta, who had already forslept and digested the virtue of the potion, awoke and feeling herself kissed, misdoubted her that the friar, being come to take her up and carry her to his chamber, [...]

    1890, Matteo Bandello, The novels of Matteo Bandello: bishop of Agen

Origin

  1. Middle Englishforslepen
  2. Englishforsleep

From Middle English forslepen, equivalent to for- + sleep. Cognate with West Frisian forsliepe (“to forsleep”), Dutch verslapen (“to sleep off, sleep away”), German verschlafen (“to sleep away, oversleep”).

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

forsleep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forsleep

MLA

“forsleep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forsleep. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forsleep,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forsleep.

Source: forsleep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.