overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

sleepy.

Tired; feeling the need for sleep.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈsliːpi/

  1. Tired; feeling the need for sleep.

  2. Suggesting tiredness.

  3. Tending to induce sleep.

    a sleepy drink or potion

  4. Dull; lazy.

    figuratively

  5. Quiet; without bustle or activity.

    figuratively
    a sleepy English village
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).

noun/ˈsliːpi/

  1. The gum that builds up in the eye; sleep, gound.

    in-plural · informal · uncountable

  2. Shingleback.

    Australia · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).

verb/ˈsliːpi/

  1. To sleep.

    childish
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

sleepy has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

sleepy studiosleepy workshello, sleepy

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.