Adventures in Etymology – Sloom

Today we’re looking into the origins of the word sloom. In some dialects of English spoken in England sloom [sluːm] means: * A gentle sleep; slumber. * to doze, slumber * to become weak and flaccid (of plants) * to move or wander slowly or silently In Scots sloom is: * A dreamy or sleepy state, a reverie, day-dream, a light sleep, slumber, an unsettled sleep * to sleep lightly, doze, slumber fitfully * to slip along easily and quietly, to glide smoothly * to make or become soft and flaccid as a result of frost, damp, etc It comes from the Middle English sloum(b)e / slume, from the Old English slūma (sleep, slumber), from the Proto-Germaic *slūm- (slack, loose, limp, flabby), from the PIE *(s)lew- (slack, loose, limp, flabby) [source]. The English word slumber comes from the same Proto-Germanic root, as does the Dutch sluimeren (to slumber) and sloom (sluggish, lifeless), the German Schlummer (slumber) and schlummern (to doze, slumber), and the Danish slumre (to drowse) [source]. Here’s a video I made of this information: Video made with Doodly [afflilate link]. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur. You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail. If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.