Abed

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /əˈbɛd/

Definitions

1. In or on a bed, typically while lying down or resting
2. Situated within the space of a bed, often implying a state of rest or sleep
3. Positioned within a bed, usually to rest or sleep

Etymology: "Abed" is a simple case of a preposition fused onto a noun. Its ancestor in Old English was "on bedde," meaning "in bed" or "on a bed," with "on" meaning "in" or "on" and "bedde" meaning bed. Over the Middle English period, the two words gradually merged into a single adverb, "abedde" or "o bedde," and the separate "on" dropped out of view. The "a-" in the modern word is the surviving trace of that old preposition. English once had many words built the same way, such as "afoot," "ashore," and "aside," where the a- marks a sense of location or state. Here the sense has narrowed to a bed: a person who is abed is lying in bed, usually resting or asleep, and the word now sounds literary or old-fashioned.