Definition

Noun: 1. A garment for an infant: Specifically, long, narrow strips of cloth or a gown-like garment used to wrap a newborn baby snugly, restricting its limbs. This traditional practice is intended to provide warmth, security, and a sense of containment for the infant.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • In many historical cultures, newborns were immediately wrapped in swaddling bands.
  • The painting depicted the infant Jesus in traditional swaddling bands.
  • The practice of using swaddling bands has seen a revival in some modern parenting circles.

Advanced Usage

• "To be in swaddling bands/clothes": To be an infant; to be in the earliest stage of life or development.
  • The company, still in its swaddling bands, focused on securing initial funding.

Variants and Related Words

• Swaddling clothes (noun phrase): A synonymous term for swaddling bands.
  • He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
• Swaddle (verb): The act of wrapping a baby snugly in cloth or a blanket.
  • The nurse taught the new parents how to swaddle their baby safely.
• Swaddler (noun, archaic): A person who swaddles; historically, a term of contempt for a Methodist.

Synonyms

• Wrapping bands
• Swaddling clothes
• Infant bindings (descriptive)

Notes on Meaning

The term is primarily historical and literary. Its most famous usage is in the Christian biblical narrative (Luke 2:7, 12), which has cemented its association with the infancy of Jesus Christ. In modern contexts, "swaddle blankets" or simply "swaddles" are more common terms for similar items used in infant care.

Noun

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