Somniferous
/sɒmˈnɪfərəs/noun
Causing sleep or drowsiness.
Did you know?Somniferous comes from Latin roots used in medical and poetic language for anything that ‘bears sleep,’ which is why it sounds like a spell even though it’s just a precise adjective.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*swep-
“to sleep”
Latin
Latin
somnus
“sleep”
Latin
Latin
-fer
“bearing, carrying”
Late Latin
Latin
somnifer
“sleep-bringing; sleep-inducing”
16th Century
English
somniferous
“causing sleep or drowsiness”
Modern English
English
somniferous
“causing sleep or drowsiness”