breastfeedv.
/ˈbrɛs(t)fiːd/, U.S. /ˈbrɛs(t)ˌfid/ 1.
a. transitive. Of a woman: to feed (a baby or young child) with milk from the breast. Cf. bottle-feed v. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > suckle
feedc950
milkOE
nourisha1382
suckle1408
alact1512
elacta1521
nursea1530
suck1607
uberate1623
breastfeed1869
1869 Bull. N.Y. Acad. Med. June 440 No woman in our public institutions should ever be required to breast-feed more than one child.
1928 Daily Express 29 Feb. 3/1 (advt.) ‘Ovaltine’ taken regularly—both before and after the birth—enables nearly every mother to breast-feed her baby.
2014 Observer 19 Jan. (Food Monthly Suppl.) 6 It's interesting how moody young humans get when they're hungry—when I was breastfeeding my children, one thing I saw was mardiness.
b. intransitive. Of a woman: to feed a baby or young child with milk from the breast. Cf. bottle-feed v. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > supply with food [verb (intransitive)] > give suck
to give suckc1330
suckle1408
nurse1645
breastfeed1905
1905 Dublin Jrnl. Med. Sci. 120 466 In some of the departments of France,..prizes are awarded to those who breast-feed.
1992 Bounty Infant Care Guide (2nd Annual ed.) 21/1 (advt.) There may be times it is not possible to breastfeed, but you can still provide your milk by breastpumping.
2017 Church Times 13 Jan. 29/1 I was trying to interest someone in the fact that the Pope had said that women ought to be able to breastfeed in the Sistine Chapel.
2. intransitive. Of a baby or young child: to feed from the breast.
ΚΠ
1955 Public Health Rep. (U.S. Public Health Service) 70 1189/2 We explained that allowing the child to breast-feed all night..spoils his appetite for health-giving foods in the daytime.
2005 N. Mohrbacher et al. Breastfeeding made Simple v. 107 New parents are often told that newborns breastfeed eight to twelve times per day.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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