Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To feed (a baby or young animal) with milk from the breast or teat. This action is performed by the mother or a nursing female.
2. Verb (intransitive):
   • To draw milk from the breast or teat of a mother. This action is performed by the infant or young animal.

Usage

• The verb "suckle" describes the fundamental biological act of providing or receiving mother's milk. It is used in both human and animal contexts.
• As a transitive verb, the subject is the provider (e.g., the mother). As an intransitive verb, the subject is the receiver (e.g., the baby).

Examples

• Transitive usage (mother provides milk):
  • The ewe suckled her lamb.
  • She suckled her newborn for several months.
• Intransitive usage (infant receives milk):
  • The calf suckled from its mother.
  • The baby suckled happily.

Advanced Usage

• Figurative/Literary Use: "Suckle" can be used metaphorically to describe receiving nourishment, ideas, or culture from a source.
  • The young artist suckled at the wellspring of classical tradition.
• "To be suckled" (Passive Voice): Describes the state of an infant receiving milk.
  • The orphaned kitten was suckled by a foster cat.

Variants and Related Words

• Suckling (noun): A young mammal that has not been weaned and is still feeding on its mother's milk.
  • The piglets were healthy sucklings.
• Nurse (verb, synonym): Often used interchangeably with the transitive sense of "suckle," especially for humans.

Synonyms

• For the transitive sense (to give milk): Nurse, breastfeed, lactate.
• For the intransitive sense (to take milk): Feed, nurse (at the breast).

Phrasal Verbs / Common Collocations

• Suckle at/on: Often used to specify the source.
  • The puppy suckled at its mother.
  • The infant suckled on the bottle. (Note: This extends the meaning to bottle-feeding with milk.)

Related Idioms

• "Suckled on [something]": Figuratively means to have been raised with or deeply influenced by something from an early age.
  • He was a writer suckled on the tales of the old sailors.

Verb

1. give suck to
   • The wetnurse suckled the infant
   • You cannot nurse your baby in public in some places
2. suck milk from the mother's breasts
   • the infant was suckling happily