noctambulist
- noun
- /nɒkˈtæmbjʊlɪst/
- Specialized
:
noctámbulo
- The doctor explained that her son was a noctambulist and that his sleepwalking was not uncommon in children.
Examples
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As a child, Daniel was a frequent noctambulist, often found wandering the house late at night.
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Many noctambulists are unaware of their actions.
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Because she is a noctambulist, special precautions were taken to ensure her safety during sleep.
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The noctambulist wandered through the dark hallways.
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As a child, Daniel was a frequent noctambulist, often found wandering the house late at night.
-
Because she is a noctambulist, special precautions were taken to ensure her safety during sleep.
-
The doctor explained that her son was a noctambulist and that his sleepwalking was not uncommon in children.
Synonyms
11
3.5
A person who walks while not awake and does not remember it
1
9.9
A person who walks while asleep
Surface Forms
Morphology
noctambulist = noctambulate (opaque) = noct + ambul + ist
Although analyzable as Latin-derived elements meaning 'night' + 'walk' + agent, the combining forms are rare and non-productive, so the structure is not transparent to an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Noctambulist comes from the Latin parts noct- meaning 'night' and ambul- meaning 'walk', with -ist for 'person'. You can see noct- in nocturnal and ambul- in amble, so a noctambulist is literally a 'person who walks at night', a sleepwalker.