# sleepy
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English slepi, slepy, from Anglian Old English *slēpiġ (cognate with West Saxon *slǣpiġ, attested in unslǣpiġ (“not sleepy, sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep +‎ -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), Middle Dutch slapig, slêpig, slapich (“sleepy”), Middle Low German slâpich, Middle High German slāfec (> archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”)).

### Pronunciation

* Audio (US):(file)
* IPA: /ˈsliːpi/
* Rhymes: -iːpi

### Adjective

sleepy (comparative sleepier, superlative sleepiest)
* Tired; feeling the need for sleep.
    Synonyms: tired; see also Thesaurus:sleepy
** 1700, [John] Dryden, “Cymon and Iphigenia, from Boccace”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:She wak'd her sleepy crew.
* Suggesting tiredness.
    Synonyms: jaded, weary; see also Thesaurus:fatigued
** 1994, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Hippopotamus:At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorations as the tree had recovered from the collision.
* Tending to induce sleep.
    Synonyms: hypnotic, soporific; see also Thesaurus:soporific
    a sleepy drink or potion
** 1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Edward the Second, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […] William Hall and John Beale, for John Sudbury and George Humble, […], →OCLC, book IX ([Englands Monarchs] […]), paragraph 49, page 561, column 1:[T]he yong L. Roger Mortimer, […] hauing corrupted his Keepers, or (as ſome others vvrite) hauing potioned them vvith a ſleepy drinke, eſcaped out of the Tovver of London, getting ouer clearely vvithout any empeachment into France.
* (figurative) Dull; lazy.
    Synonyms: heavy, sluggish
** 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:'Tis not sleepy business; But must be looked to speedily and strongly.
* (figurative) Quiet; without bustle or activity.
    a sleepy English village
** 2021 August 30, “Armed robbers take hostages in deadly bank raids in Brazil city”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:Experts believe a pandemic welfare programme for poorer Brazilians has encouraged robbers to plan bold raids in sleepy regional cities where bank branches are storing more cash.(Can we archive this URL?)
** 2022 September 23, Pjotr Sauer, Dan Sabbagh, “Border queues build as people flee Russia to escape Putin's call-up”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:Usually sleepy border crossings into Kazakhstan and Mongolia have also been overwhelmed by the sudden influx of Russians looking for a way out.(Can we archive this URL?)
** 2023 March 8, Paul Salveson, “Fond farewells to two final trains...”, in Rail, number 978, page 54:Despite Horwich's international fame as a centre of railway engineering, Horwich station itself was usually quite a sleepy place.

#### Alternative forms

* sleeby (Internet slang)

#### Derived terms

* eep
* eepy
* sleepily
* sleepiness
* sleepy-bye
* sleepy-byes
* sleepy cod
* sleepy crab
* sleepy distemper
* sleepy dust
* sleepy-dust
* sleepy goby
* sleepy head
* Sleepy Hollow
* Sleepy Joe
* sleepy sand
* sleepy sickness
* sleepy underwing

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Noun

sleepy (countable and uncountable, plural sleepies)
* (informal, uncountable or in the plural) The gum that builds up in the eye; sleep, gound.
    Synonym: (which see for more) sleep
** 1964, Ken Kesey, Sometimes a Great Notion:"Did he always leave the sleepy in his eyes?" "Never removed it; let it build up in the comers of his eyes over the weeks until it was heavy enough to fall […]
** 1991, Martin Amis, London Fields:But the nightdress was heavy, the sleepy in her eyes was heavy, her hair (she made a mustache of one of its locks) was heavy and smelled of cigarettes […]
* (Australia) Shingleback.

### Anagrams

* Epleys