drowse

Meanings

1. To make (someone or something) heavy with drowsiness or sleepiness.
2. Followed by away: to pass (time) drowsily or in sleeping; also, to proceed (on a way) drowsily or sleepily.
3. To make (someone or something) dull or inactive, as if from sleepiness.
4. Often followed by away or off: to be drowsy or sleepy; to be half-asleep.
5. To be dull or inactive, as if from sleepiness.

1. An act, or a state, of being drowsy or sleepy.
2. A state of dullness or inactivity, as if from sleepiness.

Etymology

The verb is either: * a back-formation from drowsy, which is attested earlier; or * possibly from Middle English *drousen (no known attestations), from Old English drūsan, drūsian (“to droop, sink; to become feeble, inactive, low, or slow, drowse”), from Proto-Germanic *drūsijaną (“to look down; mourn”) (possibly merged with *dreusaną (“to fall”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewHs- (“to break off; to fall down”). The noun is derived from the verb. cognates * Danish drøse (“to be negligent; to slow down”) * Dutch drozen (“to doze; muse”) * German trauern (“to mourn, be sad”) * Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐌰𐌽 (driusan, “to fall; to fall down”) * Norwegian døse (“to drowse”) * Old English drēosan (“to fall; to perish; to rush”) (whence Middle English dresen (“to fall down”)) * Swedish drösa (“to be slow”)

Translations