slepen

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsleː.pə(n)/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sle‧pen
• Rhymes: -eːpən

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch slêpen, from Old Dutch *slēpen, from Proto-West Germanic *slaipijan.

Verb

slepen

1. to drag, tow
2. to slide

Inflection

Inflection of slepen (weak)
infinitive	slepen
past singular	sleepte
past participle	gesleept
infinitive	slepen
gerund	slepen n
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	sleep	sleepte
2nd person sing. (jij)	sleept	sleepte
2nd person sing. (u)	sleept	sleepte
2nd person sing. (gij)	sleept	sleepte
3rd person singular	sleept	sleepte
plural	slepen	sleepten
subjunctive sing.1	slepe	sleepte
subjunctive plur.1	slepen	sleepten
imperative sing.	sleep
imperative plur.1	sleept
participles	slepend	gesleept
1) Archaic.

Derived terms

• sleep
• sleepkabel
• sleeptouw

Descendants

• Afrikaans: sleep
• Negerhollands: slep
• → Sranan Tongo: srepi
  • → Saramaccan: séépi

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

slepen

1. inflection of slijpen:
   1. plural past indicative
   2. (dated or formal) plural past subjunctive

Anagrams

• spelen

Latvian

Adverb

slepen

1. secretly, stealthily, without others knowing or noticing; adverbial form of slepens

   tas gāja saimniekam slepen iepakaļ ― that one went stealthily behind the farmer

   jāieliek krūzē nauda, un jāierok slepen zemē; un tā, lai neviens nezina, kurā kalnā ― the money must be put in a mug, and then buried secretly in the earth, in such a way that nobody knows in which hill (it is buried)

Synonyms

• slepeni
• slepus
• slēpu
• zagšus

Middle English

Alternative forms

• slæpen, sleepen, slepe

Etymology

From Old English slǣpan, from Proto-West Germanic *slāpan, from Proto-Germanic *slēpaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsleːpən/, /ˈslɛːpən/

Verb

slepen (third-person singular simple present slepeth, present participle slepende, slepynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle sleped)

1. To sleep; to be sleeping:
   • c. 1275, Judas (Roud 2964, Child Ballad 23, Trinity College MS. B.14.39)‎^[1], folio 34, recto, lines 15-16; republished at Cambridge: Wren Digital Library (Trinity College), 2019 May 29:

     Iudaſ go þou on þe roc heie upon the ſton / lei þin heued i my barm, ſlep þou þe anon

     "Judas, get up on the rock, high on the stone, / rest your head on my lap and fall asleep right away!"

   • c. 1368, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess, as recorded c. 1450–1475 in Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 638, folio 110v:

     For Nature wolde nat ſuffyſe / To non erthly creature / Not longe tyme to endure / Without ſlepe & be yn ſorwe / And I ne may ne nyght ne morwe / Slepe […]

     For Nature will not allow / Any earthly creature / To survive for long / Without sleep, and sorrowing; / And yet I cannot, by night or morning, / Sleep, […]

   • 1387–1400, [Geoffrey] Chaucer, “Here Bygynneth the Book of the Tales of Caunt́burẏ”, in The Tales of Caunt́bury (Hengwrt Chaucer; Peniarth Manuscript 392D), Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: National Library of Wales, published c. 1400–1410], →OCLC, folio 2, recto, lines 9-10:

     And smale foweles maken melodye / That slepen al the nyght with open iye

     And small birds make melodies, / sleeping all night with an open eye.

   1. To fall asleep; to go to sleep.
   2. To cause to sleep; to make sleep.
2. (figuratively) To copulate, have intercourse
3. (figuratively) To be unused or dormant.

Conjugation

Conjugation of slepen (strong class 7 or weak in -te/-ed)

infinitive	(to) slepen, slepe
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	slepe	slep, slepte, sleped
2nd-person singular	slepest	slepe, slep, sleptest, slepedest
3rd-person singular	slepeth, slepth	slep, slepte, sleped
subjunctive singular	slepe	slepe1, slepte1, sleped1
imperative singular		—
plural2	slepen, slepe	slepen, slepe, slepten, slepte, slepeden, slepede
imperative plural	slepeth, slepe	—
participles	slepynge, slepende	(y)slepen, (y)slepe, (y)slept, (y)sleped

¹Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
²Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Related terms

• slepe, sleepe, sleep

Descendants

• English: sleep
  • Sranan Tongo: sribi
• Scots: sleep, sleip, slepe

References

• “slẹ̄pen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-20.