Nap vs Sleepy - What's the difference?

As nouns the difference between nap and sleepy

is that nap is a short period of sleep, especially one during the day while sleepy is the gum that builds up in the eye.

As a verb nap

is to have a nap; to sleep for a short period of time, especially during the day.

As an adjective sleepy is

tired; feeling the need for sleep.

nap

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) nappen, from (etyl) ).

Noun

(en noun)

A short period of sleep, especially one during the day

Synonyms

* See also

Derived terms

* catnap * dirt nap

Verb

(napp)

to have a nap; to sleep for a short period of time, especially during the day

to be off one's guard

* Hudibras

I took thee napping , unprepared.

The regulators were caught napping by the financial collapse.

Derived terms

* catch napping

Synonyms

* snooze * doze

Etymology 2

From (etyl) , from (etyl)

Noun

(-)

A soft or fuzzy surface on fabric or leather.

* 1591 , , by William Shakespeare

I tell thee, Jack Cade the clothier means to dress the commonwealth, and turn it, and set a new nap upon it.

*1851 ,

On his long, gaunt body, he carried no spare flesh, no superfluous beard, his chin having a soft, economical nap' to it, like the worn ' nap of his broad-brimmed hat.

* 1939 , (Raymond Chandler), The Big Sleep , Penguin 2011, p. 37:

There were low bookshelves, there was a thick pinkish Chinese rug in which a gopher could have spent a week without showing his nose above the nap .

Verb

(napp)

to form or raise a soft or fuzzy surface on (fabric or leather)

Etymology 3

* From the name of the French emperor Napoleon I of France (Bonaparte)

Noun

(en noun)

(British) A type of bet in British horse racing, based on the experts' best tips

(uncountable, games) A card game in which players take tricks; properly (Napoleon)

Derived terms

* go nap

Etymology 4

possibly Scandanavian, cognate with nab, see Swedish

Verb

(napp)

(obsolete) to grab; to nab

Derived terms

* kidnap

Etymology 5

From (etyl) napper, from .

Verb

(napp)

(cooking) To cover (something) with a sauce (usually in passive)

* 2006 , Wayne Gisslen, Mary Ellen Griffin, Professional Cooking for Canadian Chefs? :

Vanilla ice cream topped with a poached or canned pear half, napped with chocolate sauce, and garnished with toasted sliced almonds.

Anagrams

* * * English terms with multiple etymologies ----

sleepy

English

(wikipedia sleepy)

Adjective

(er)

Tired; feeling the need for sleep.

* Dryden

She wak'd her sleepy crew.

Suggesting tiredness.

* 1994 , (Stephen Fry), (The Hippopotamus) Chapter 2

At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorationsas the tree had recovered from the collision.

Tending to induce sleep; soporific.

a sleepy drink or potion

Dull; lazy; heavy; sluggish.

* William Shakespeare

'Tis not sleepy business; / But must be looked to speedily and strongly.

Quiet; without bustle or activity.

a sleepy English village

Synonyms

* tired * See also

Noun

(-)

(informal) The gum that builds up in the eye

* 1964 , Ken Kesey, Sometimes a great notion

"Did he always leave the sleepy in his eyes?" "Never removed it; let it build up in the comers of his eyes over the weeks until it was heavy enough to fall...

* 1991 , Martin Amis, London fields

But the nightdress was heavy, the sleepy in her eyes was heavy, her hair (she made a mustache of one of its locks) was heavy and smelled of cigarettes...