abed

1 9.9

Lying or sleeping in bed

adverb
/əˈbɛd/

Archaic

: en la cama

I went to lie abed and read.
lie abed

Examples

I mean, she is brought abed.

Titus (1999)
Thank heavens I can lie abed tomorrow when you leave for London, Kingsclere.

The Wicked Lady (1983)
After a long week at work, I love to stay abed on Saturday mornings and relax.
On rainy days, she prefers to stay abed with a good book.
He was too tired to get up, so he decided to lie abed for a little while longer.

Synonyms

in the sack

vsabed

Informal

4 9.2

Asleep or resting in bed

is about being in bed whether asleep or simply lying there

Compounds

lie-abed

Archaic

9.9

A person who often stays in bed until late in the morning

sick-abed

Archaic

9.9

Lying in bed because you are ill

Surface Forms

abed positive

Morphology

abed = bed (semi-transparent) = a + bed

The meaning 'in bed' follows the archaic locative prefix 'a-' + 'bed', but the prefix is not productive in modern English and may be unfamiliar to learners.

Etymology

Abed comes from the old prefix a- meaning 'in' or 'on' plus bed, so it originally meant 'on the bed'. That's why today abed simply means 'in bed' or lying in bed.