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somniferous

 
Dictionary: som·nif·er·ous   (sŏm-nĭf'ər-əs) pronunciation also som·nif·ic
(-nĭf'ĭk)
adj.
Inducing sleep; soporific.

somniferously som·nif'er·ous·ly adv.

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Wordsmith Words: somnific
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(som-NIF-ik)

adjective
Causing sleep.

Etymology
From Latin somnificus (causing sleep), from somnus (sleep) + facere (to make). Ultimately from Indo-European root swep- (to sleep) that is also the source of insomnia, hypnosis, soporific (inducing sleep) and somnambulate (to walk in sleep)

Usage
"Each week in Horse & Hound, the showjumper's bible, advertisements for 'natural sedatives' with somnific names - Placid, So-Kalm, Tranquillity - promise to 'soothe away your horse's competition nerves and prevent nervousness and excitability without impairing performance'." — Richard McClure; Skulduggery at the Stables; The Independent (London, UK); Aug 30, 1999.


Dental Dictionary: somniferous
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(somnif′ərus)
adj

Inducing or causing sleep.

Veterinary Dictionary: somniferous
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somnific
soporiferous
soporific

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more