suckle

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English

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A mother suckling an infant (painting by Mosè Bianchi)

Etymology

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From Middle English sukelen; probably a back-formation of Middle English sukeling (a suckling; infant), formally equivalent to suck +‎ -le (frequentative suffix). See suckling.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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suckle (plural suckles)

  1. (obsolete) A teat.
    • 1638, Thomas Herbert, “Travels begun Anno 1626”, in Some yeares travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique[1], London: Jacob Blome and Richard Bishop, Book 1, p. 26:
      [] the body of this fish [the Mannatee] is commonly 3 yards long and one broad, slow in swimming, wanting fins, in their place ayded with 2 paps which are not only suckles but stilts to creep a shoare upon such time she grazes []
  2. An act of suckling
    The baby was having a suckle at its mother's breast.

Verb

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suckle (third-person singular simple present suckles, present participle suckling, simple past and past participle suckled)

  1. (transitive) To give suck to; to nurse at the breast, udder, or dugs.
  2. (intransitive) To nurse; to suck milk from a nursing mother.
    • 1931, Pearl S. Buck, chapter 4, in The Good Earth[2], New York: Modern Library, published 1944, page 35:
      But out of the woman’s great brown breast the milk gushed forth for the child, milk as white as snow, and when the child suckled at one breast it flowed like a fountain from the other, and she let it flow.
  3. (transitive) To nurse from (a breast, nursing mother, etc.).
    • 1982, Bernard Malamud, God’s Grace, New York: Avon, published 1983, page 60:
      Buz attempted to suckle his left nipple.
    • 1997, Ridley Pearson, Beyond Recognition[3], New York: Hyperion, page 129:
      She opened her eyes slightly, like a person drugged—dreamy and quiet. The baby suckled her.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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Hunsrik

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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suckle

  1. to suck

Conjugation

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Regular
infinitive suckle
participle gesuckeld
auxiliary hon
present
indicative
imperative
ich suckle
du suckelst suckel
er/sie/es suckeld
meer suckle
deer suckeld suckeld
sie suckle
The use of the present participle is uncommon, but can be made with the suffix -end.

Further reading

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