Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb In bed.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In bed.
  • To bed.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb In bed, or on the bed.
  • adverb To childbed (in the phrase “brought abed,” that is, delivered of a child).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb To childbed

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb in bed

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Fie upon thee, thou cur! all this is of thy doings; thou hast wounded my heart s darling and thereby worked me sore woe and thou hast wasted his youth so that these three years he hath lain abed more dead than alive!

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • "If we had lain abed till the usual time," said Solomon John, "we should have been all right."

    The Peterkin Papers Lucretia Peabody 1886

  • "She's lyin 'abed, and so far from bein' well that she'll never be well again."

    The Hills of the Shatemuc 1856

  • Despite the rain and her disappointment it was impossible for Fleda to lie abed from the time the first grey light began to break in at her windows – those old windows that had rattled their welcome to her all night.

    Queechy 1854

  • September 3rd, 2008 at 7: 57 am this is not racism. translating abeed as "slaves" is not a good choice. the word abed is so used in our cultural on every body and everything (e.g. abdallah, abeed-allah, abed-lat, the word "I worship" is "abed" you can't just translate i t as slave. it also means a name for african people (even though keep in mind mqany salaves were white)

    360east | design, media, technology 2008

  • I guess ppl in certain parts of the ME are used to the name and dont think much about the literal meaning of it. on the other hand, ras il abed is not pronounced ras il abeed (head of slave), its 'abed' which was probably the name of some guy who sold them …

    360east | design, media, technology 2008

  • Unlike the early birds, the dawning of each day finds me still abed, nested in my covers and dreamily counting waves; this is a psychological response to the soothing sigh of a slight swell nibbling at the beach a few yards from my seaside bed.

    Good morning, Melaque: one day in a small Mexico beach town 2009

  • Even if he so desired, he could not lie abed this very day.

    Chapter XXII 2010

  • I'd lie abed in the mornings on purpose, only everything is too good not to be up.

    CHAPTER VIII 2010

  • I love the troy and abed credit scene, it literally make my roll on the floor and laugh out loud.

    'Community' recap: Psych! | EW.com 2009

Comments

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  • "And gentlemen in England now a-bed

    Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,

    And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

    That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

    From the St.Crispin's Day Speech in Shakespeare's Henry V.

    September 25, 2009