nurse
See also: Nurse
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English norice, from Old French norrice, from Latin nūtrīcius (“that nourishes”), from nūtrīx (“wet nurse”), from nūtriō (“to suckle”).
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 159: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value RP is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /nɜːs/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 159: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value GenAm is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /nɝs/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)s
Noun
nurse (plural nurses)
- (archaic) A wet nurse.
- A person (usually a woman) who takes care of other people’s young.
- They hired a nurse to care for their young boy.
- A person trained to provide care for the sick.
- The nurse made her rounds through the hospital ward.
- 1990, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, House of Cards, Season 1, Episode 4
- Francis Urquhart: Right. Mackenzie. Health. No chance of getting him into a demo at a hospital, I suppose?
Tim Stamper: Doesn't go to hospitals any more. Kept getting beaten up by the nurses... I think he has trouble getting insured now.
- Francis Urquhart: Right. Mackenzie. Health. No chance of getting him into a demo at a hospital, I suppose?
- (figurative) One who, or that which, brings up, rears, causes to grow, trains, or fosters.
- Eton College has been called "the chief nurse of England's statesmen".
- (Can we date this quote by Burke and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise
- (horticulture) A shrub or tree that protects a young plant.
- (nautical) A lieutenant or first officer who takes command when the captain is unfit for his place.
- A larva of certain trematodes, which produces cercariae by asexual reproduction.
- A nurse shark.
Usage notes
- Some speakers consider nurses (medical workers) to be female by default, and thus use "male nurse" to refer to a man doing the same job.
Derived terms
Descendants
Descendants
Translations
wet nurse — see wet nurse
person who takes care of other people's young
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person trained to provide care for the sick
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb
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- to breastfeed
- She believes that nursing her baby will make him strong and healthy.
- to care for the sick
- She nursed him back to health.
- to treat kindly and with extra care
- She nursed the rosebush and that season it bloomed.
- to manage with care and economy
- Synonym: husband
- to drink slowly
- to foster, to nourish
- to hold closely to one's chest
- Would you like to nurse the puppy?
- to strike (billiard balls) gently, so as to keep them in good position during a series of shots
- 1866, United States. Congress. Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Supplemental report of the Joint Committee
- It is to our interest to let Lee and Johnston come together, just as a billiard-player would nurse the balls when he has them in a nice place.
- 1866, United States. Congress. Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Supplemental report of the Joint Committee
Usage notes
In sense “to drink slowly”, generally negative and particularly used for someone at a bar, suggesting they either cannot afford to buy another drink or are too miserly to do so. By contrast, sip is more neutral.
Synonyms
- (drink slowly): sip, see also Thesaurus:drink
Translations
to breast feed
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to care for the sick
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to treat kindly and with extra care
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to drink slowly
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to foster, to nourish
See also
Further reading
- “nurse”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “nurse”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “nurse”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- Template:projectlink
Anagrams
Middle English
Noun
nurse
- Alternative form of norice
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)s
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with archaic senses
- English terms with usage examples
- Requests for date/Burke
- en:Horticulture
- en:Nautical
- en:Babies
- en:Breastfeeding
- en:Healthcare occupations
- en:People
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns