name
Meaning 1
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
sandman
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK, US: /ˈsænd.mæn/
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Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: S AE1 N D M AE2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
name
Meaning 2
Alternative letter-case form of sandman (“folkloric figure sprinkling sand into eyes”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A figure that brings sleep and dreams by sprinkling magical sand into people's eyes.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: arts, folklore, history, human-sciences, literature, media, publishing, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Used as a symbol of the passage of time toward death.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A seller of sand.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
an elf in fairy stories who sprinkles sand in children's eyes to make them sleepy
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: elf, hob, gremlin, pixie, pixy, brownie, imp
History
Etymology
From sand + -man. The mythological sense may be from German Sandmann, Sandmännchen, as it is apparently first attested in English in the context of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novella The Sandman (1816). The German is attested in the relevant sense since at least the mid-18th century.
Across languages
Translations
25 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: Съ́нчо (Sǎ́nčo) — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Danish: Ole Lukøje — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Dutch: Klaas Vaak — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Esperanto: sablovendisto — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Finnish: nukkumatti — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Finnish: unijukka — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- French: marchand de sable — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Galician: Pedro Chosco — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- German: Sandmann — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- German: Sandmännchen — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Irish: Seán Ó Néill — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Italian: omino del sonno — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Marathi: सँडमॅन (sĕṇḍmĕn) — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Portuguese: João Pestana — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Portuguese: joão-pestana — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Romanian: Moș Ene — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Russian: песо́чный челове́к (pesóčnyj čelovék) — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Scots: Dream Angus — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Scottish Gaelic: Bodach nan Casan-clòimhe — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Scottish Gaelic: MacSuain — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnall Slaodach — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnall Sàmhach — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Swedish: John Blund — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Welsh: Huwcyn — figure who brings good sleep and dreams
- Welsh: Siôn Cwsg — figure who brings good sleep and dreams