soporific

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The Word of the Day for December 11 is:=20

soporific   \sah-puh-RIFF-ik\   adjective
          1 *a : causing or tending to cause sleep b : tending to dull a=
wareness or alertness
     2 : of, relating to, or marked by sleepiness or lethargy

Example sentence:
         After dinner, Owen sank onto the couch by the fireplace and -- =
succumbing to the soporific effect of his full belly and the comfortable=
 surroundings -- quickly fell asleep.

Did you know?
          "It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is 'sop=
orific.' I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am n=
ot a rabbit." In _The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies_ by Beatrix Potter, the=
 children of Benjamin Bunny were very nearly done in by Mr. McGregor bec=
ause they ate soporific lettuces that put them into a deep sleep. Their =
near fate can help you recall the history of "soporific." That term trac=
es to the Latin noun "sopor," which means "deep sleep." (That root is re=
lated to "somnus," the Latin word for sleep and the name of the Roman go=
d of sleep.) French speakers used "sopor" as the basis of "soporifique,"=
 which was probably the model for the English "soporific."





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