the.com/swaddle

means To wrap someone (usually an infant) snugly in cloth so their limbs are held close to the body, mimicking the womb's cozy restriction.

from Swaddle grew out of the Old English 'swathian,' meaning to bind with bands of cloth, itself tied to 'swathe' — the same root that gives us a 'swath' cut through grass, a strip laid flat. The idea threading through all of it is binding or wrapping something into a flat, controlled strip, whether that's hay or a howling newborn.