Slepe

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic term for the natural state of rest in which the body is unconscious and the mind is inactive ; to lie resting in slumber, as an older form of the verb to sleep
2. Obsolete spelling of the noun for the periodic state of unconsciousness that restores the body ; the old verb meaning to fall into or remain in that state of rest
3. A dated word for the restful unconscious state of the body at night ; an archaic verb describing the act of dozing off or remaining in slumber

Etymology: Before the modern "sleep" settled into English, Middle English writers spelled it "slepe," with a final -e that marked the long vowel. That vowel was the Old English "slǣp," pronounced with a long open "a." Over the Middle English period the vowel rose and became the long "e" we hear today, so "slepe" shows the word partway through that shift. The noun and verb both descend from Old English forms, and the root is Germanic rather than Latin or French. The Old English verb "slǣpan" and its relatives in other Germanic languages, such as German "schlafen," go back to a shared Proto-Germanic verb. Old English did not use "slepe" as a standard spelling; it appears in later medieval texts, after the vowel had changed, as a variant that scribes used to show the sound.