swaddle

[ swod-l ]

/ ˈswɒd l /

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See synonyms for: swaddle / swaddling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), swad·dled, swad·dling.

to bind (an infant, especially a newborn infant) with long, narrow strips of cloth to prevent free movement; wrap tightly with clothes.

to wrap (anything) round with bandages.

noun

a long, narrow strip of cloth used for swaddling or bandaging.

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Origin of swaddle

1375–1425; late Middle English, in suadiling (gerund); akin by gradation to Middle English swethel (noun), Old English; see swathe¹, -le

OTHER WORDS FROM swaddle

un·swad·dled, adjectiveun·swad·dling, adjective

Words nearby swaddle

swabber, swabby, Swabia, Swabian, swacked, swaddle, swaddling clothes, swaddy, Swadeshi, Swados, swag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use swaddle in a sentence

Measuring 16 x 64 inches, these swaddles will fit your new little life perfectly.
Swaddles to keep your little one cozy and comfortable|PopSci Commerce Team|January 11, 2021|Popular-Science
They are machine-washable, cotton swaddles that can double as baby blankets, car seat covers, and more.
Swaddles to keep your little one cozy and comfortable|PopSci Commerce Team|January 11, 2021|Popular-Science
The English approach is to swaddle any attacks with disarming self-deprecation.
Brit Wits Bash America|Sean Macaulay|February 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The swaddle is a piece of stout cloth about a yard square, to one corner of which is attached a long narrow band.
The Syrian Christ|Abraham Mitrie Rihbany

They take a live man, let us say Sergey Golovin, they swaddle him as a doll and they hang him by the neck until he is dead.
The Seven who were Hanged|Leonid Andreyev
The one thing she would not buy was a sewing machine to make her own swaddle with, as Ilse economically counselled.
The Pastor's Wife|Elizabeth von Arnim
There would be sad screaming and kicking were I to swaddle mine in stone-work.
Imaginary Conversations and Poems|Walter Savage Landor
Come, come, strap and string down; swaddle it round wi' sax dizzen o' wheelbands, and fasten a steel-belted fur cap ower aboon a'.
The Three Perils of Man, Vol. 3 (of 3)|James Hogg

British Dictionary definitions for swaddle

swaddle

/ (ˈswɒdəl) /

verb (tr)

to wind a bandage round

to wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes

to restrain as if by wrapping with bandages; smother

noun

mainly US swaddling clothes

Word Origin for swaddle

C15: from Old English swæthel swaddling clothes; related to swathian to swathe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

swaddle

Origin of swaddle

OTHER WORDS FROM swaddle

Words nearby swaddle

Words related to swaddle

How to use swaddle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for swaddle

Word Origin for swaddle