Nursing


[nurs] /nɜrs/

noun
1.
a person formally educated and trained in the care of the sick or infirm.
Compare , , , , .
2.
a woman who has the general care of a child or children; dry nurse.
3.
a woman employed to suckle an infant; wet nurse.
4.
any fostering agency or influence.
5.
Entomology. a worker that attends the young in a colony of social insects.
6.
Billiards. the act of maintaining the position of billiard balls in preparation for a carom.
verb (used with object), nursed, nursing.
7.
to tend or minister to in sickness, infirmity, etc.
8.
to try to cure (an ailment) by taking care of oneself:
to nurse a cold.
9.
to look after carefully so as to promote growth, development, etc.; foster; cherish:
to nurse one’s meager talents.
10.
to treat or handle with adroit care in order to further one’s own interests:
to nurse one’s nest egg.
11.
to use, consume, or dispense very slowly or carefully:
He nursed the one drink all evening.
12.
to keep steadily in mind or memory:
He nursed a grudge against me all the rest of his life.
13.
to suckle (an infant).
14.
to feed and tend in infancy.
15.
to bring up, train, or nurture.
16.
to clasp or handle carefully or fondly:
to nurse a plate of food on one’s lap.
17.
Billiards. to maintain the position of (billiard balls) for a series of caroms.
verb (used without object), nursed, nursing.
18.
to suckle a child, especially one’s own.
19.
(of a child) to suckle:
The child did not nurse after he was three months old.
20.
to act as nurse; tend the sick or infirm.
/ˈnɜːsɪŋ/
noun
1.

/nɜːs/
noun
1.
a person who tends the sick, injured, or infirm
2.
short for nursemaid
3.
a woman employed to breast-feed another woman’s child; wet nurse
4.
a worker in a colony of social insects that takes care of the larvae
verb (mainly transitive)
5.
(also intransitive) to tend (the sick)
6.
(also intransitive) to feed (a baby) at the breast; suckle
7.
to try to cure (an ailment)
8.
to clasp carefully or fondly: she nursed the crying child in her arms
9.
(also intransitive) (of a baby) to suckle at the breast (of)
10.
to look after (a child) as one’s employment
11.
to attend to carefully; foster, cherish: he nursed the magazine through its first year, having a very small majority he nursed the constituency diligently
12.
to harbour; preserve: to nurse a grudge
13.
(billiards) to keep (the balls) together for a series of cannons
n.

1530s, verbal noun from nurse (v.). Meaning “profession of one who nurses the sick” is from 1860.
n.

12c., nurrice “wet-nurse, foster-mother to a young child” (modern form from late 14c.), from Old French norrice “foster-mother, wet-nurse, nanny” (source of proper name Norris), from Late Latin *nutricia “nurse, governess, tutoress,” noun use of fem. of Latin nutricius “that suckles, nourishes,” from nutrix (genitive nutricis) “wet-nurse,” from nutrire “to suckle” (see nourish). Meaning “person who takes care of sick” in English first recorded 1580s.

“dog fish, shark,” late 15c., of unknown origin.
v.

1530s, “to suckle (an infant);” 1520s in the passive sense, “to bring up” (a child); alteration of Middle English nurshen (13c.; see nourish), Sense of “take care of (a sick person)” is first recorded 1736. Related: Nursed; nursing.

nursing n.

nurse (nûrs)
n.

v. nursed, nurs·ing, nurs·es

verb

Read Also:

  • Nursing-bottle

    noun 1. a bottle with a rubber nipple, from which an infant sucks milk, water, etc. noun 1. another term (esp US) for feeding bottle

  • Nursing father

    noun 1. a biblical name for foster father

  • Nursing-home

    noun 1. a private residential institution equipped to care for persons unable to look after themselves, as the aged or chronically ill. 2. Chiefly British. a small private hospital; a small hospital owned by one person or a group of individuals and supported solely by the fees of patients. noun 1. a private hospital or […]

  • Nursing mother

    noun 1. a mother who is breast-feeding her baby 2. a biblical name for foster mother

  • Nursing officer

    noun 1. (in Britain) the official name for matron (sense 4)


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