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swad·dle

(swŏdl)

tr.v. swad·dled, swad·dling, swad·dles

1. To wrap, as in cloth: He stood on the sidewalk, swaddled in a blanket.

2. To wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes.

3. To wrap or bind in bandages; swathe.

A band or cloth used for swaddling.

[Middle English swadlen, probably back-formation from swadling (band), swaddling (cloth), or swathelbonde, both from *swathelen, probably frequentative of Old English swathian, to swathe.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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