sleeping draught
1
8.2
- noun
- /ˈsliːpɪŋ dræft/
- Archaic
:
poción para dormir
- In her present state, she was as likely to give a cleansing tincture as a sleeping draught.
Examples
-
"And would you then drink the sleeping draught, keeping in mind that it contains bone leaf, which, in larger proportions, makes one sleep to the point of death?" I continued my task, measuring and mixing, but my hands were suddenly cold.
Fiction book (1999) -
I better give her a sleeping draught.
-
Ratchett took a sleeping draught each evening.
-
At the time, I was measuring out—to the drop—the various ingredients that made up a sleeping draught.
Fiction book (1999) -
After a long day, I took a sleeping draught to help me relax and fall asleep quickly.
-
The doctor prescribed a sleeping draught to help the patient get a good night's rest.
-
Feeling restless, she decided to sip the sleeping draught before bedtime to ensure a peaceful sleep.
Synonyms
45
2.9
A tablet you take to help you fall asleep
1
2.8
A small pill that helps you sleep
A medicine that makes you sleep
A small pill that you take to help you sleep
Antonyms
How Sedating
- Specialized
12
9.0
- Specialized
1
7.1
- Archaic
1
8.2
- Specialized
22
6.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
sleeping + draught
The meaning is directly compositional: 'sleeping' (causing sleep) modifies 'draught' (a drink or medicinal dose), so the phrase denotes a liquid preparation that induces sleep. This adjective+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the MWE meaning (noting that 'draught' is a British/less frequent term).
Etymology
The phrase sleeping draught comes from the words sleeping and draught. Draught used to mean a drink or sip, and people were given a strong draught to 'make them sleep', so today it means 'a liquid medicine taken to help someone sleep'.