I just thought of this as I was going to bed last night. Why does the word “asleep” mean that one is in a state of sleeping? Doesn’t the prefix “a-” mean “without?” Amoral, atheist, etc… The only thing I can think of is that the word sleep actually means something different than how it’s commonly used. What’s the deal?
I would tend to think that the word “asleep” is a contraction of ‘at sleep.’ Also think of such doggerel as people saying ‘someone’s a coming’ and the like.
My Am. Herit. computer dict. gives this for the 2nd meaning of “a-”:
a-2 pref. 1. On; in. 2. In the act of. 3. In the direction of. 4. In a specified state or condition.
So both 4 would seem to apply to “sleep”. Some examples of each (?):
- Abed, atop.
- Awakening.
- Astern.
- Asleep.
In the sense of “in the act of”, just think of all the folk songs about
“As I was a walking one May MOnday morning…”