Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To wrap, as in cloth.
- transitive verb To wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes.
- transitive verb To wrap or bind in bandages; swathe.
- noun A band or cloth used for swaddling.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A bandage or long strip of cloth used for wrapping a child, or for bandaging in any similar manner; a swaddling-band.
- To bind with long and narrow bandages, or as if with bandages; swathe: said especially of young children, who are still bandaged in this manner in many parts of Europe to prevent them from using their limbs freely, owing to a fancy that those who are left free in infancy become deformed.
- To beat; cudgel.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To bind as with a bandage; to bind or warp tightly with clothes; to swathe; -- used esp. of infants.
- transitive verb obsolete To beat; to cudgel.
- noun Anything used to swaddle with, as a cloth or band; a swaddling band.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
bind (a baby) with long narrowstrips ofcloth . - verb archaic To beat;
cudgel .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb wrap in swaddling clothes
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Sweet, sweet the swaddle is that guarantees the sleep …
A swaddle blog! Now with new footnote action! | Her Bad Mother 2006
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(The swaddle is E’s big sleep cue) Do you just wait ’til he’s really tired/sleepy/asleep and then put him down that way? ambien Said,
A swaddle blog! Now with new footnote action! | Her Bad Mother 2006
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There have been some experiments in swaddle-free sleeping, some of which were successful for very brief periods of time (45 minutes!
And you thought the pimps had it rough | Her Bad Mother 2006
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Oh, yeah, the swaddle is a really important to know how to do a good swaddle is a really important thing.
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And not just any ordinary swaddle - we're talking Miracle Blanket swaddle, which is to say, full-on baby straightjacket.
Bustin' loose 2006
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And not just any ordinary swaddle - we're talking Miracle Blanket swaddle, which is to say, full-on baby straightjacket.
Archive 2006-01-22 2006
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And not just any ordinary swaddle – we’re talking Miracle Blanket swaddle, which is to say, full-on baby straightjacket.
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Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle – the baby loves that feeling, and will absolutely help them sleep better.
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I just have enough room to want a little more room. the difference between being swaddle dand being seatbelted.
Too Much/Too Little kittenpie 2009
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I just have enough room to want a little more room. the difference between being swaddle dand being seatbelted.
Archive 2009-04-01 kittenpie 2009
bilby commented on the word swaddle
"Swaddling dates back to the Ancient Egyptians, who wrapped their infants in long strips of cloth, a process taking as long as two hours. Swaddled babies were then often hung on a wall peg. Swaddling is still practiced in the Balkans, presumably because the babe feels more like it did in the womb. Many Native
Americans once swaddled their 'papooses'.
Of course, at this time of the year, we associate today's word with Luke 2:12 `And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.` (A much better translation than the more modern, `wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough`."
-Dr. Goodword, alphaDictionary, 22 Dec 2007.
December 22, 2007
sonofgroucho commented on the word swaddle
Fascinating, bilby. There have been many times when I would have liked to hang one of my own children on a wall peg: ideally without swaddling them first!
Personally, I don't think there is nearly enough swaddling going on. I would quite like to be swaddled on a regular basis.
Just saying...
December 22, 2007
bilby commented on the word swaddle
Yes, the possibilities are encouraging. I'd like to swaddle a few politicians and hang them in the Idiot Gallery.
December 22, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word swaddle
Further discussion can be found on moro reflex.
December 4, 2009
660774855 commented on the word swaddle
Eating Animals
June 28, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word swaddle
"The biggest limitation to this research may be the definition of swaddling itself. The authors of the study acknowledge one of the “several” limitations to their meta-analysis is the fact that none of the studies they reviewed clearly outlined what constitutes a swaddle. And besides that, as anyone who has tried to swaddle a baby can confirm, good swaddling takes practice. Many parents, for fear of too tightly wrapping their babies, end up swaddling too loosely, which is itself a suffocation hazard. (Some daycare centers in the United States don’t allow swaddling for this reason.)"
-- https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/05/is-swaddling-safe/482055/
August 16, 2017
fbharjo commented on the word swaddle
Is there a danger in wallowing 'swaddling'?
August 17, 2017
fbharjo commented on the word swaddle
does it drag on?
August 24, 2017