/sluːm/
OriginFrom Middle English *sloume, sloumbe, slume, from Old English sluma (“sleep, slumber”), from Proto-Germanic *slūm- (“to be slack, loose, or limp”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lew- (“limp, flabby”). Compare slumber and Dutch sloom.
- ScotlandTo sleep lightly, to doze, to nod; to be half-asleep.
“The squire sloomed and slept in his chair; and finally, after a cup of tea, went to bed.”
“To his castle’s portal, / At the morning gloaming, / Bore they all the mortal / From the battle’s foaming, / Of the white bannered warrior knight, / Cold in his armor slooming!”
“Then the doctor was slooming and nodding, and waking up and saying a word or two, and relapsing again into semi-unconsciousness.”
- To soften or rot with damp. (of plants or soil)
“He adds, that one hundred bolls, or fifty quarters of wheat may be thrashed in a day of eight hours, unless the grain has been sloomed or mildewed; […]”
“[…] no other spot over their whole pastured offered as much verdure at this time as these seemingly sloomed places.”
“It must be explained, however, that in the latter case the “slooming” of the crop had an injurious effect on its yield; […]”
Formsslooms(plural) · sloum(alternative) · slooms(present, singular, third-person) · slooming(participle, present) · sloomed(participle, past) · sloomed(past) · sleam(alternative)