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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

swaddle.

To bind (a baby) with long narrow strips of cloth.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈswɒdəl/UK/ˈswɔdəl/US/ˈswɑdəl/US
  1. To bind (a baby) with long narrow strips of cloth.

  2. To beat; cudgel.

    archaic
Where this word comes from

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”).

noun/ˈswɒdəl/UK/ˈswɔdəl/US/ˈswɑdəl/US
  1. Anything used to swaddle with, such as a cloth or band.

Where this word comes from

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”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.