swaddling clothes

See also: swaddling-clothes

English

swaddling clothes pl (plural only)

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

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981:
Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn
(idiomatic) An early period in development, infancy, the beginnings of something; inception.
- 1952, Steel Industry Union Strife Has Been In Progress For Even Century, "The Day" issue of June the 4th, 1952
  The steel—industry wore swaddling clothes when the first walkout occurred exactly 100 years ago.
- 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.

garment