English

forsleep

Forsleep comes from Middle English forslepen.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Earliest quotation: 1890, Matteo Bandello: “At this moment, Giulietta, who had already forslept and…”

Formed from for- + sleep

Proto-Indo-European *pro- ‘before, in front of’

Proto-Germanic *fra- ‘off, away’

Proto-West Germanic *fra- ‘forms verbs with the sense of "away from" or…’

English for-

Proto-Germanic *slēpaną ‘to sleep’

Proto-West Germanic *slāpan

Anglian Old English slēpan ‘to sleep’

Middle English slepen ‘to sleep’

English sleep

Every English word from Middle English forslepen

verb To be overcome with sleep.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.