A mythical figure from folklore and children's stories who is said to sprinkle sand in children's eyes to make them fall asleep.
From Germanic folklore, combining 'sand' and 'man.' The figure appears in Hans Christian Andersen's 1841 story and draws from much older Norse and Germanic legends about a sleep-bringing creature. The 'sand' in eyes became the folkloric explanation for sleep crust.
The Sandman mythology exists in almost every culture—Ancient Greeks had Morpheus, Scandinavians had the Sandman, and even Japanese folklore has similar sleep-bringing spirits. Scientists only discovered why we actually get 'sleep sand' (crusty eye discharge called rheum) in our eyes recently—it's dried tears and dead skin cells, but the folklore explanation was close enough to seem magical!
Folklore and children's literature traditionally depicted 'Sandman' as male. Modern usage assumes masculine default for mythical/personified figures without structural gender bias, but historical media perpetuates male-as-neutral.
In creative contexts, specify gender or use gender-neutral alternatives when possible. If using traditionally, acknowledge the figure's literary history rather than assuming masculine default.
["Sleep guide","dream facilitator","by character name"]
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