swaddle

English

Etymology

From Middle English swathlen (“to bind; swaddle”), from Middle English swathel, swethel, from Old English swaþul, swæþel, sweþel, sweoþol (“swaddling cloth”), equivalent to swathe (“to wrap with fabric”) +‎ -le (agent/instrumental suffix), the word then underwent th-stopping (its voiced th became a d). Cognate with Middle Dutch swadel (“swaddling; bandage”), Old High German swedili (“poultice”), Old English sweþian, besweþian (“to wrap; swaddle”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈswɒdəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈswɔdəl/, /ˈswɑdəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒdəl

Verb

swaddle (third-person singular simple present swaddles, present participle swaddling, simple past and past participle swaddled)

1. To bind (a baby) with long narrow strips of cloth.
2. (archaic) To beat; cudgel.

Related terms

• swaddling

Translations

to bind a baby

• Arabic: قَمَّطَ (qammaṭa)
• Bulgarian: повивам (bg) (povivam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 包裹嬰兒／包裹婴儿 (bāoguǒ yīng'ér)

• Dutch: bakeren (nl), inbakeren (nl), wikkelen (nl), inwikkelen (nl), omzwachtelen (nl)
• Faroese: reiva
• Finnish: kapaloida (fi)
• French: emmailloter (fr), langer (fr)
• German: wickeln (de)
• Greek: φασκιώνω (el) (faskióno)
• Hungarian: bepólyál (hu)
• Ido: lanjizar (io)
• Italian: fasciare (it)
• Macedonian: повива (poviva)
• Persian: قنداق کردن (qondâq kardan)
• Portuguese: enfaixar
• Romanian: înfășa (ro)
• Russian: пелена́ть (ru) impf (pelenátʹ), запелена́ть (ru) pf (zapelenátʹ)
• Turkish: kundaklamak (tr)
• Ukrainian: сповивати (spovyvaty), пеленати impf (pelenaty)

Noun

swaddle (plural swaddles)

1. Anything used to swaddle with, such as a cloth or band.
   • 1711 June 24 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, June 13, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 90; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     They put me in bed in all my swaddles.

     The spelling has been modernized.

   • 2020, Avni Doshi, Burnt Sugar, Hamish Hamilton, page 207:

     The baby is awake, trying to escape the swaddle I have imprisoned her in.

Translations

cloth or band

• Turkish: kundak (tr)

Anagrams

• Dewalds, Waddles, dawdles, waddles