Which combining form means Sleep?

Which combining form means Sleep?

• A. Hypno-
• B. Dorm-
• C. Narco-
• D. Somni-

Answer: (D)

Sleep is captured as a combining form by somni-, which comes from the Latin somnus. This form is directly used to mean sleep itself in medical terms, as in somniferous (bearing sleep) or somnolent (sleepy). The other forms relate to sleep in different ways: hypno- from Greek hypnos refers more to the state or phenomenon of sleep (and to hypnosis), rather than sleep itself; dorm- is Latin for sleep as a concept tied to dormancy or buildings like dormitories; narco- implies stupor or drug-induced unconsciousness, a broader sense than simply sleep. So somni- is the precise form for the concept of sleep.

Sleep is captured as a combining form by somni-, which comes from the Latin somnus. This form is directly used to mean sleep itself in medical terms, as in somniferous (bearing sleep) or somnolent (sleepy). The other forms relate to sleep in different ways: hypno- from Greek hypnos refers more to the state or phenomenon of sleep (and to hypnosis), rather than sleep itself; dorm- is Latin for sleep as a concept tied to dormancy or buildings like dormitories; narco- implies stupor or drug-induced unconsciousness, a broader sense than simply sleep. So somni- is the precise form for the concept of sleep.