gān tō slǣpe
The English phrase 'go to sleep' is translated into Old English as gān tō slǣpe.
This phrase is used to describe the act of beginning to sleep.
Did you know?
- The root of slǣp comes from a Proto-Indo-European base meaning 'to be slack' or 'to relax', suggesting that for the early English, sleeping was defined by the loosening of the muscles.
- In the Anglo-Saxon world, 'going to sleep' often involved a physical transition to a shared sleeping area or 'bed-stead', as private bedrooms were rare for anyone below the high nobility.
- The verb gān was not just a movement through space, but could be used metaphorically to describe a transition into a new state of being, such as death.
Examples in context
- Ic mōt nū gān tō slǣpe.I must go to sleep now.
Example conversation
A mother and son are preparing for bed in a village hut.
- EadgythHit is tīd tō gān tō slǣpe, Osric.It is time to go to sleep, Osric.
- OsricIc ne eom nū slēpende, Eadgyth.I am not sleepy now, Eadgyth.
- EadgythÞū scealt gān tō slǣpe nū.You must go to sleep now.
- OsricGōd niht, mōdor.Good night, mother.
