I. ˈsləmbə(r) verb
( slumbered ; slumbered ; slumbering -b(ə)riŋ ; slumbers )
Etymology: Middle English slumberen, slumeren, freq. of slumen to doze, probably from slume, sloumbe slumber, from Old English slūma; akin to Middle High German slummern, slumen to slumber, Norwegian slum sluggish, Norwegian dialect sluma to walk sluggishly, drag one's feet, Middle English sloor mud — more at slur
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to sleep lightly : doze
he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep — Ps 121:4 (Revised Standard Version)
b. : to lie asleep
the girl slumbered peacefully — Henry La Cossitt
2.
a. : to lie or live as if sunk in sleep or stupor : be in a torpid state : hibernate
the … nation slumbered through more than two centuries of self-imposed isolation — Louis Wasserman
b. : to remain in a negligent or slothful state : idle
the public conscience slumbers
slumbering along until shocked into activity
add to this a report I have been asked to do … and you will guess that I have not slumbered — H.J.Laski
c. : to lie dormant or latent
below the surface slumbered deadly memories — Times Literary Supplement
transitive verb
: to pass or spend (as time) in or as if in sleep — usually used with away or out
slumbering away the best years for productive work
Synonyms: see sleep
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English slumbir, slummir, from slumberen, slumeren to slumber
1.
a. : a state of sleep or repose : sleep
it was no night for slumber
sank into a deep slumber
fills my slumber with tumultuous dreams — P.B.Shelley
b. : light sleep : doze
at last fell into a slumber , and thence into a fast sleep — John Bunyan
2. : a moral, mental, or physical condition like sleep : lethargy , torpor
a great writer arouses us from our dogmatic slumbers — Zechariah Chafee
III. adjective
: of, relating to, or intended for use during slumber
a slumber cap
a slumber robe