Sleepyhead

/ˈslipihɛd/ noun

Definition

A person who is very drowsy or loves to sleep; someone who wakes up slowly or has trouble staying awake.

Etymology

Compound of 'sleepy' (prone to sleep) plus 'head' (person). It emerged as a playful nickname in the 1800s, similar to how 'redhead' or 'bonehead' use '-head' to mean a type of person.

Kelly Says

Some people really are natural sleepyheads—they have a genetic variation affecting their circadian rhythms called a 'long sleep chronotype,' meaning their brains genuinely need 10+ hours of sleep to function optimally.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.