swaddler

[See def.] A term of contempt applied by Roman Catholics in Ireland to Protestants, especially to the more evangelical and active sects. The following extract and note from The Life of the Rev. John Wesley, by Dr. Coke and Mr. Moore (Derby; Richardson & Son, 1845), confirms Southey's statement in Life of Wesley, ii. 153, that the name was first given in derision to a preacher who took for his text Luke ii. 12. "Butler and his mob were now in higher spirits than ever; they scoured the streets day and night, frequently hallooing as they went along, 'Five pounds for a swaddler's head!'" To this a note is added (p. 288): "A name first given to Mr. Cennick, from his preaching on those words, 'Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swad. dling clothes, lying in a manger.'"-Notes and Queries, Feb. 19, 1870, p. 211. swad-dling, *swad-ling, pr. par., a. & subst. [SWADDLE, τ.] A. & B. As pr . par . & particip . adj .: (See the verb.) C. As subst. ( pl .): Swaddling-clothes. "There he in clothes is wrapped, in manger laid, To whom too narrow swadlings are our spheres." Drummond: Flowers of Sion .