Main Entry: swad·dle

Pronunciation: \ˈswä-d^əl\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): swad·dled; swad·dling \ˈswäd-liŋ, ˈswä-d^əl-iŋ\

Etymology: Middle English swadelen, swathelen, probably alteration of swedelen, swethelen, from swethel swaddling band, from Old English; akin to Old English swathian to swathe

Date: 14th century

1 a : to wrap (an infant) with swaddling clothes b : envelop, swathe <legs swaddled in bandages>
2 : restrain, restrict <marriage…swaddled him in a domesticity he came to loathe — Nina Auerbach>