Suckle
/ˈsʌk.əl/noun
To give milk to from the breast or udder; to nurse.
Did you know?Although it has no occult meaning, *suckle* preserves an old Germanic root tied to sucking, feeding, and survival—the kind of bodily word languages keep for thousands of years.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*sukōną / *suk-
“To suck or draw in with the mouth”
Old English
OE
sūcan
“To suck, draw in liquid or nourishment”
Old English
OE
sūclian
“To nurse; to give suck”
Middle English
ME
soklen / sucklen
“To nurse at the breast; to feed as an infant”
Modern English
English
suckle
“To feed a baby or young animal with milk from the breast or udder”