I. sēˈestə noun
( -s )
Etymology: Spanish, from Latin sexta ( hora ) sixth (hour) (i.e., after sunrise), noon, from sexta, feminine of sextus sixth + hora hour — more at sext , hour
: an afternoon nap or rest in some usually Latin countries and especially formerly so customary that business is usually suspended daily to allow for it
when he slept his siesta (as the Spaniard calls it) — James Howell
the honored Italian siesta — Time
also : a short sleep or rest
about nine or ten in the morning the sheep settle down to a siesta
take a siesta for twenty minutes or so — Anita Colby
— sometimes used without the article
the hour of siesta
roused the … museum guardian from siesta — Claudia Cassidy
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to take a siesta : nap
could not siesta with the argument going on — Gerald Durrell