Phrase guide

swaddling clothes

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A garment, made of strips of cloth, used to bind an infant and restrict movement of its limbs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, plural-only

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An early period in development, infancy, the beginnings of something; inception.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, plural, plural-only

Examples

  • 1954, Academy Site May Be Chosen May 15, St Petersburg Times, 11 May issue The Air Force Academy, baby brother to West Point and Annapolis, is crawling out of its swaddling clothes.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

restrictions placed on the immature

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: constraint

4

noun

Meaning 4

a garment (a gown or narrow strips of cloth) for an infant

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: swaddling bands

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: garment

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: բարուր (barur) — garment
  • Armenian: խանձարուր (xanjarur) — garment
  • Azerbaijani: qundaq — garment
  • Catalan: bolquers — garment
  • Chinese Mandarin: 襁褓 (qiǎngbǎo) — garment
  • Finnish: kapalot — garment
  • French: langes — garment
  • Greek: φάσκιωμα (fáskioma) — garment
  • Ancient Greek: σπάργανον (spárganon) — garment
  • Hungarian: pólya — garment
  • Ido: lanjo — garment
  • Ingrian: kapalo — garment
  • Ingrian: huntu — garment
  • Latin: incūnābula — garment
  • Persian: اشتک (eštak) — garment
  • Persian: قنداق (qondâq) — garment
  • Plautdietsch: Winjel — garment
  • Polish: powijak — garment
  • Portuguese: manta — garment
  • Romanian: fașă — garment
  • Russian: пелёнки (peljónki) — garment
  • Russian: свива́льники (sviválʹniki) — garment
  • Spanish: empañadura — garment
  • Turkish: kundak — garment
  • Finnish: kapaloaste — early period in development
  • Polish: powijak — early period in development