give suck

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Thân thiện
Definition

Verb: * To feed a baby or young animal directly from the breast or mammary gland. This action involves the infant drawing milk from the mother or a nursing female.

Usage
  • This verb phrase is used to describe the specific act of breastfeeding. It is a formal or literary alternative to more common terms like "breastfeed" or "nurse."
  • It is typically used in the construction "give suck to [someone/something]."
Examples
  • The mother would give suck to her newborn several times a day.
  • In many mammalian species, the female will give suck to her offspring until they are weaned.
  • Historical texts often note that wet nurses were employed to give suck to the children of nobility.
Advanced Usage
  • The phrase can be used in a passive construction, though this is less common.
    • The infant was given suck by its mother.
Variants and Related Words
  • Suckle (verb): A more common single-word synonym meaning to feed from the breast or to cause to feed from the breast.
    • The doe suckled her fawn.
  • Nurse (verb): A common, less formal term meaning to feed a baby from the breast.
    • She nurses her baby on demand.
  • Breastfeed (verb): The standard modern term for the same action.
    • The hospital encourages mothers to breastfeed.
  • Wet-nurse (noun): A woman who breastfeeds another's child.
  • Lactate (verb): To produce milk. This refers to the mother's biological function, not the act of feeding the child.
Synonyms
  • Breastfeed
  • Nurse
  • Suckle
  • Lactate (specifically for milk production, not the act of feeding)
Antonyms
  • Bottle-feed
  • Wean
Related Phrases
  • Give the breast: A very direct and somewhat archaic phrase with the same meaning.
  • At the breast: A phrase describing the state of an infant who is feeding or about to feed.
    • The baby is at the breast.
Verb
  1. give suck to
    • The wetnurse suckled the infant
    • You cannot nurse your baby in public in some places

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