E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Land of Nod (The).
To go to the land of Nod is to go to bed. There are many similar puns, and more in French than in English. Of course, the reference is to Gen. iv. 16, “Cain went … and dwelt in the land of Nod;” but where the land of Nod is or was nobody knows. In fact, “Nod” means a vagrant or vagabond, and when Cain was driven out he lived “a vagrant life,” with no fixed abode, till he built his “city.” (See NEEDHAM.)
