sleepy

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈsliːpi/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like slippy /ɪ/ vs /iː/

Freq #5385

Meanings

1

adj
Tired and ready to fall asleep.

After the big lunch, I started to feel sleepy.
2

adj
Quiet and without much activity.

They retired to a sleepy English village by the sea.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · tired and ready to fall... tiredsleepy-eyed

More adrowsebedroomydopey dozy drowsyoscitantsleepboundsleepishslombryslumberfulslumberousslumbersome

Opposites

nonsleepyunsleepy

Word family

Forms sleepiersleepiestsleepilysleepiness

Derived forms eepeepynonsleepysleepilysleepinesssleepy-byesleepy-byessleepy-dustsleepyheadsleepytimeunsleepy

Related forms sleep

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).

slepy Middle English *slǣpiġ Old English *slāpag Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# sleepy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈsliːpi/
**Frequency rank:** 5385

## Meanings
1. Tired and ready to fall asleep.
2. Quiet and without much activity.

## Examples
- After the big lunch, I started to feel sleepy.
- They retired to a sleepy English village by the sea.

## Synonyms
- adrowse
- bedroomy
- dopey
- dozy
- drowsy
- oscitant
- sleepbound
- sleepish
- slombry
- slumberful
- slumberous
- slumbersome

## Antonyms
- nonsleepy
- unsleepy

## Derived Forms
- eep
- eepy
- nonsleepy
- sleepily
- sleepiness
- sleepy-bye
- sleepy-byes
- sleepy-dust
- sleepyhead
- sleepytime
- unsleepy

## Related Forms
- sleep

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: slepy
- Root: *slǣpiġ
- Root: *slāpag
- Affix: -y - full of

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).

## AI Etymology
The etymological chain for sleepy runs Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English slepy, Old English *slǣpiġ, Proto-West Germanic *slāpag. In current use it includes senses such as Tired and ready to fall asleep and Quiet and without much activity.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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