nursery

English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Etymology

nurse + -ery

Pronunciation

• (GenAm) IPA: /ˈnɝs(ə)ri/, X-SAMPA: /"n3`s(@)ri/
• Hyphenation: nurs‧er‧y

Noun

nursery (plural nurseries)

1. (obsolete) The act of nursing.
   • 1606, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act 1, sc. 1:

     I loved her most, and thought to set my rest

     On her kind nursery.

2. A place where nursing is carried on; as:
   1. A room or area in a household set apart for the care of children; specifically in European countries.
      • 1907, Robert Chambers, chapter 1/2, The Younger Set^[1]:

        […] presently Selwyn lay prone upon the nursery floor, impersonating a ladrone while pleasant shivers chased themselves over Drina, whom he was stalking.

   2. A place where young trees, shrubs, vines, etc., are cultivated for transplanting; a plantation of young trees.
   3. The place where anything is fostered and growth promoted.
      • circa 1594, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, act 1, sc. 1:

        Fair Padua, nursery of arts.

      • J. M. Mason:

        Christian families are the nurseries of the church on earth, as she is the nursery of the church in heaven.

   4. A nursery school.
3. That which forms and educates.

   Commerce is the nursery of seamen.

4. (rare) That which is nursed.

Derived terms

• nursery rhyme
• stellar nursery
• workplace nursery
• night nursery
• day nursery

Related terms

• nurse

Translations

The act of nursing

• Dutch: verzorgen (nl)

• German: erziehen (de)

A place where nursing is carried out

• Dutch: kleuterschool (nl), peuterspeelzaal (nl)
• French: crèche (fr) f, pouponnière (fr) f
• Portuguese: berçário (pt) m, creche (pt)
• Russian: ясли (ru) (jásli) f pl, (for animals) питомник (ru) (pitómnik) m

• Serbian: obdanište n
• Spanish: criadero (es) m (animals)
• Venetian: axiło m

place for the care of children

• Esperanto: infanĉambro (eo)
• German: Kindergarten (de) m, Kinderzimmer (de) n, Kinderstube (de) f

• Scottish Gaelic: seòmar-àraich (gd) m
• Volapük: pulacem (vo)

place for cultivation of young plants

• German: Gärtnerei (de) f, Baumschule (de) f (trees)
• Manx: ymmyr viljyn (gv) f (for trees)
• Russian: рассадник (ru) (rassádnik) m

• Scottish Gaelic: (plants) ionad-àraich (gd) m
• Spanish: semillero (es) m, vivero (es) m
• Volapük: (plants, flowers) dabridöp (vo), (plants) planidabridöp (vo)

That which is nursed

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Italian

Etymology

English

Noun

nursery f (invariable)

1. nursery (place for the care of children)