soporific

English

WOTD – 30 June 2010

Alternative forms

• soporifick (obsolete)

Etymology

From French soporifique, from Latin sopor (“deep sleep”), from Proto-Indo-European *swepōr, from *swep-. Unrelated to stupor (distinct in Proto-Indo-European).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌsɒp.əˈɹɪf.ɪk/, /ˌsoʊ.pəˈɹɪf.ɪk/

Noun

soporific (plural soporifics)

1. Something inducing sleep, especially a drug.

   The doctor prescribed a soporific to help the patient sleep.

2. (figuratively) Something boring or dull.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:soporific

Translations

sleep inducing agent

• Arabic: مُنَوِّم (munawwim)
• Armenian: քնաբեր (hy) (kʻnaber)
• Bulgarian: приспивателно (bg) n (prispivatelno)
• Catalan: somnífer m, hipnòtic m, soforífic m, narcòtic m
• Czech: uspávadlo
• Danish: sovemiddel (da) n
• Dutch: soporatief (nl) n, slaapmiddel (nl)
• Esperanto: dormigilo
• Finnish: unilääke (fi)
• French: somnifère (fr)
• German: Schlafmittel (de) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: υπνωτικό (el) n (ypnotikó)
• Greenlandic: sininnartoq
• Interlingua: soporifico
• Italian: sonnifero (it) m
• Korean: 최면제 (ko) (choemyeonje)
• Latin: sopor m
• Maori: mea whakamoe, rongoā whakamoe
• Polish: środek nasenny m
• Portuguese: soporífero m, soporífico m
• Russian: снотво́рное (ru) n (snotvórnoje)
• Spanish: somnífero (es)

Adjective

soporific (comparative more soporific, superlative most soporific)

1. Tending to induce sleep.

   The professor delivered a soporific lecture.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter I, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book V:

     For we are not here to understand, as perhaps some have, that an author actually falls asleep while he is writing. It is true, that readers are too apt to be so overtaken; […] To say the truth, these soporific parts are so many scenes of serious artfully interwoven, in order to contrast and set off the rest;

   • 1909, Beatrix Potter, The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies:

     It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is “soporific.” I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit. They certainly had a very soporific effect upon the Flopsy Bunnies!

2. (figuratively) Boring, dull.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:soporific

Translations

tending to induce sleep

• Arabic: مُنَوِّم (munawwim)
• Armenian: քնաբեր (hy) (kʻnaber)
• Bulgarian: приспивателен (bg) m (prispivatelen), сънотворен m (sǎnotvoren)
• Catalan: soporífer, soporífic, narcòtic, somnífer, hipnòtic
• Czech: uspávající
• Dutch: soporatief (nl), slaapverwekkend (nl)
• Finnish: unettava
• French: soporifique (fr)
• German: einschläfernd (de)
• Greek: υπνωτικός (el) m (ypnotikós)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingua: soporific
• Italian: soporifero (it) m, addormentativo m, addormentatore m
• Korean: 잠이 오게 하는 (jami oge haneun)
• Latin: somnifer, somnificus
• Maori: rongoā whakamoe
• Persian: خواب‌آور (xAbAvar)
• Portuguese: soporífero m, soporífico m
• Russian: усыпляющий (ru) (usypljajuščij), навевающий сон (navevajuščij son), вводящий в сон (vvodjaščij v son), снотво́рный (ru) (snotvórnyj)
• Spanish: soporífico, somnífero (es)

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Romanian

Etymology

From French soporifique.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /so.poˈri.fik/

Adjective

soporific m or n (feminine singular soporifică, masculine plural soporifici, feminine and neuter plural soporifice)

1. soporific

   Synonyms: somnifer, soporifer

Declension

Declension of soporific

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	soporific		soporifică	soporifici	soporifice
	definite	soporificul		soporifica	soporificii	soporificele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	soporific		soporifice	soporifici	soporifice
	definite	soporificului		soporificei	soporificelor	soporificilor