nourish

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French nouriss-, stem of one of the conjugated forms of norrir, from Latin nutrire (“to suckle, feed, foster, nourish, cherish, preserve, support”).

Noun

nourish (plural nourishes)

1. (obsolete) A nurse.

Verb

nourish (third-person singular simple present nourishes, present participle nourishing, simple past and past participle nourished)

1. To feed and cause to grow; to supply with matter which increases bulk or supplies waste, and promotes health; to furnish with nutriment.
2. To support; to maintain.
3. To supply the means of support and increase to; to encourage; to foster; as, to nourish rebellion; to nourish the virtues.
4. To cherish; to comfort.
5. To educate; to instruct; to bring up; to nurture; to promote the growth of in attainments.
6. To promote growth; to furnish nutriment.
7. (intransitive, obsolete) To gain nourishment.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

Derived terms

• nourishment

Related terms

• nurse
• nutriment
• nutrition

Translations

feed and cause to grow

• Armenian: կերակրել (hy) (kerakrel), սնուցել (hy) (snuc'el)
• French: nourrir (fr)
• German: ernähren (de)
• Irish:

  Old Irish: ailid

• Italian: nutrire (it)

• Latin: alere (la)
• Portuguese: nutrir (pt)
• Romanian: nutri (ro)
• Spanish: nutrir (es)
• Turkish: beslemek (tr)

External links

• nourish in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• nourish in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• nourish at OneLook Dictionary Search