▪ I. nurse, n.1
(nɜːs)
Forms: α. 4–6 nors(e, 5–6 norce, 6 norsse. β. 4– nurse, 6 nurs(se, 6– 7 nurce. γ. 6 nourse, 6–7 nource.
[Reduced form of ME. norice, nurice nourice.]
1. a. A woman employed to suckle, and otherwise attend to, an infant; also, one who has general care and charge of a young child or children.
The two applications of the word are more precisely expressed by wet nurse and dry nurse. In ordinary use the latter is now the more usual sense.
| α 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 401 Þanne þe norse [v.r. nors] brouȝt forþ þe childe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8484 Two sonnes hade þat semly,..Þat were bothe at the brest of the bright norse. 1470 Anc. Cal. Rec. Dubl. (1889) 339 Noo Irisshe hostler, Irisshe nors, Irisshe hokester. 1529 More Dyaloge i. Wks. 124/2 For possible it wer that..a riche mannes norce bringe home her owne chylde for her maisters. 1551 Bible (Mathew) Gen. xxiv. 59 So they let Rebecca their syster go with her norse. |
| transf. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 658 But xxx daies olde, They [peafowl] with their norce into the feld be tolde. |
| β a 1420 Bible (Wycl.) Gen. xxiv. 59 Therfor they delyueriden hir, and hir nurse. 1535 Coverdale Exod. ii. 7 Shal I go, and call the a nurse of the Hebrues wemen, to nurse y⊇ the childe? 1587 Golding De Mornay xi. (1592) 158 Thou playest the babe, who thinkes his Nurce does him wrong when she kemes his head. 1607 S. Hieron Wks. I. 179 The loue of fathers toward their children,..of nurces to the sucklings. 1700 Dryden Cock & Fox 335 The nurse's legends are for truths receiv'd. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 242 What neither yields us profit nor delight Is like a nurse's lullaby at night. 1818 Shelley Rosal. & Helen 347 A sleep more deep..Than a baby's rocked on its nurse's knee. 1878 Meredith Teeth 15 The nurse's age should not be far from that of the mother, and her confinement should have taken place at about the same time. |
| γ 1546 T. Phaer Bk. Childr. (1553) T ij, Ye must be well aduised in taking of a nource. a 1553 Udall Royster D. i. iii, Nourse, medle you with your spyndle and your whirle. 1606 Holland Sueton. 80 Being by his nource laide in the evening within a Cradell in swadling bands, beneath uppon a lowe floure. 1642 [see nursery 1 c]. |
b. transf. One who takes care of, looks after, or advises another.
| c 1425 Cast. Persev. 862 in Macro Plays 103 What..art þou þe wers þow þou brekyste Goddys heste? Do after me! I am þi nors. 1613 G. Abbot Expos. Jonah 3 That woman, who was..a nurce to that reuerend man Elias, in the time of bitter famine. 1812 Ann. Reg., Gen. Hist. 6 He ‘ridiculed the idea of such a man..being sent on an expedition with a nurse to superintend him’. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 502 Nurse, an able first lieutenant, who in former times had charge of a young boy-captain of interest, but possessing no knowledge for command. |
c. That which supplies nutriment to something.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 35 Mold anoon on euery side hit hepith. This roote & molde as nors & moder kepeth. 1650 Charleton tr. Van Helmont's Paradoxes 114 But red French Wines, unlesse nourisht by their Lees, (which for this effect, Vintners call, the Mother, or Nurse of Claret) dissolve their owne Tincture. |
d. fig. That which nourishes or fosters some quality, condition, etc.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 81 b, Obedyence..is the helth of faythfull soules, the nurse of all vertue. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 243 Time is the Nurse, and breeder of all good. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry iv. vi. 201 Agriculture..being the chiefe Nourice of mans life. 1642 Gauden Three Serm. 66 Truth and justice the mother and nurse of Peace. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 356 The land of scholars, and the nurse of arms. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam ix. xiii, Fear, The nurse of Vengeance, bade him wait the event. 1873 Tristram Moab xvi. 300 Gently sloping valleys, the mothers and nurses of the ravines which plough the bowels of the rocks. |
2. a. at nurse, in the care or charge of a nurse. Also with
take (
cf. next).
| 1557 Order of Hospitalls F v, Whether the same Childe be..in the House, or at Nurse. 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) 930/2 This Richard Hune had a child at nourse in Midlesex. 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4929/4 An Infant then at Nurse. 1796 Hist. Ned Evans I. 66 A new born son, who was said to have also died at nurse. a 1845 [see nurtureship]. 1866 W. Collins Armadale iii. xv. II. 110 A woman who took in children at nurse. |
b. to put to nurse, to commit to the care of a nurse. Usually with
out, denoting removal of the child from its proper home. Also
fig.| 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. ii. 150 The elder of them being put to nurse, Was..stolne away. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. ii, As some weake breasted dame Giveth her infant, puts it out to nurse. a 1658 Cleveland Wks. (1687) 18 Can Wedlock know so great a Curse, As putting Husbands out To nurse? 1776 Johnson in Boswell 26 Mar., There is nothing against which an old man should be so much upon his guard as putting himself to nurse. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxii, I should wery much like to see your mother-in-law born again. Wouldn't I put her out to nurse! 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre xxi, He would send for the baby, though I entreated him rather to put it out to nurse and pay for its maintenance. |
c. fig. Of estates in the hands of trustees.
| 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. I. 5 May, He has..put his estate to nurse. 1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Fam. III. 134 His estate of 1200l. a year went to nurse; and a small allowance from his creditors..remained for the maintenance of his family. 1824 Hist. Gaming 10 In trust for H.R.H., as the lawyers have it, but which the fashionable world call ‘being at nurse’. 1875 J. Grant One of the ‘600’ viii. 65 His father..died in time to let the estates go to nurse during the present man's minority. |
3. a. A person, generally a woman, who attends or waits upon the sick; now
esp. one properly trained for this purpose.
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 98, I will attend my husband, be his nurse, Diet his sicknesse, for it is my Office. 1766 Entick London IV. 382, 19 sisters, 19 nurses. 1784 Cowper Task i. 89 The nurse sleeps sweetly, hired to watch the sick. 1809 Med. Jrnl. XXI. 183 He returned the vessel to the nurse, after he had swallowed some of the fluid. 1843 Abdy Water Cure 178 A young man, delirious in the small pox, when his nurse was asleep, jumped out of bed. 1876 J. S. Bristowe Th. & Pract. Med. (1878) 232 Nurses and medical attendants seldom..take the disease from patients under their charge. |
b. Prefixed as a title to the name of one qualified to nurse,
esp. in a hospital; used as a mode of address to such a person.
| 1702 J. Mordaunt Let. in E. Hamilton Mordaunts (1965) ii. 33, I did not doubt but that you would have great trouble in parting wth Nurse Lucas. 1791 F. Burney Let. 12 Sept. (1972) I. 65 Less than an hour compleated the whole business without any help excepting Nurse Whittons. 1874 [see soul n. 14 a]. 1940 A. Christie Sad Cypress i. i. 21 ‘Do you think she's really good-looking, Nurse?’ Nurse Hopkins said: ‘Difficult to tell what these girls really look like under their make-up!’ 1955 ‘A. Gilbert’ Is she Dead Too? vi. 116 I'll be sending Nurse Wilson along. 1975 P. D. James Black Tower iv. 100 They made the bed together, Nurse Rainer flicking the sheets into place and neatly mitring each corner. |
c. Without article in reference to the nurse in charge of a patient.
| 1766 [see home-baked (home n.1 14 i)]. 1914 G. B. Shaw Misalliance 68 Is anything the matter, John? Nurse says she heard you calling me a quarter of an hour ago. 1937 J. Betjeman Continual Dew 25 Nurse looked at the silent bedstead. |
4. Forestry. A tree set in a plantation to protect smaller or newly planted ones from wind or cold.
| 1788 Trans. Soc. Arts VI. 10, I only consider them [Scotch firs] as nurses to my other trees. 1827 H. Steuart Planter's G. (1828) 224 These had been introduced merely as nurses to the deciduous Trees. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke Farm v. 62 Half the larches are to remain for timber trees; the other half are nurses, and will be thinned out. 1966 Times 21 Apr. 16/6 Scots pines were commonly planted as nurses to oak. 1973 Country Life 6 Dec. 1928/1 Larch has been..used..as a nurse with hardwoods and alone. |
5. Entom. A sexually imperfect member of a community of bees, ants, etc., upon whom devolves the care of the young brood; a worker.
| 1818 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxvii. (ed. 2) II. 500 The workers, termed by Huber nourrices, or petites abeilles (nurses), upon whom..the principal labours of the hive devolve. 1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 155/2 The large-sized workers..make cells of a larger diameter than those made by the nurses. 1860 Chambers's Encycl. I. 801/2 It is supposed by many naturalists, that some of the working-bees are exclusively wax-workers, some nurses, &c. |
| attrib. 1818 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xv. (ed. 3) I. 493 The nurse-bees..do secrete wax, but in very small quantities. 1831 Insect Misc. (L.E.K.) x. 239 The males [of aphides] being..excluded from the nurse-boxes in which the females were isolated. 1834 Penny Cycl. II. 60/1 A sort of barren females,..variously termed neuters, workers, or nurse-ants. |
6. Zool. An individual in the asexual stage of metagenesis.
| 1845 Busk tr. Steenstrup's Altern. Generations 24, I shall..designate them by the short name of Ammen (altrices, nurses or foster-parents). Ibid., All of which become..polypiform ‘nurses’, which nourish the Medusæ-larvæ from their bodies. 1871 T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. (ed. 4) 160 The stomach, for instance, in the full-grown ‘parent nurses’ is longer and wider than in any even of the youngest ‘nurses’. 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 446 The ovum in both Salpa and Doliolum produces the nurse. |
| attrib. 1845 Busk tr. Steenstrup's Altern. Generations 89 note, A confounding of ‘nurse’-germs and Cercaria-germs may occur very readily. 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 445 Sexual organs are absent, or at least atrophied, in the nurse forms of Salpa and Doliolum. |
7. Brewing. (See
quot.)
| 1880 Spon's Encycl. Manuf. ii. 407 The somewhat clumsy expedient of immersing in the wort casks filled with hot or cold water was employed for the purpose of accelerating or retarding the fermentation. The casks so used were termed ‘nurses’, and are still used in some breweries. |
8. attrib. and
Comb., as
nurse-book,
nurse-clout,
nurse-companion,
nurse-girl,
nurse-like,
nurse-secretary, etc.; also
nurse-cell, any cell whose function appears to be to assist another cell,
esp. an ovum, in some way;
nurse cloth, a plain-weave cotton fabric used for nurses' uniforms;
nurse-crop, a crop planted to protect others;
cf. 4 above and
nurse-tree;
nurse-frog, the obstetrical toad, the male of which carries the eggs till hatched.
| 1557 Order of Hospitalls F v, You shall kepe a Booke of all the Nurses which keep any of the said Children..and the same shall yow call the *Nurse-Booke; thereby to shew how many children every Nurse hath. |
| 1896 E. B. Wilson Cell iii. 114 In all these cases it is doubtful whether the *nurse-cells are sister-cells of the egg which have sacrificed their own development for the sake of their companions, or whether they have had a distinct origin from a very early period. 1964 Bishop & Surgenor Red Blood Cell viii. 324 These authors present electron micrographs which depict erythroblastic islands in the bone marrow, in which a central reticulum cell (nurse cell) is surrounded by a ring of erythroblasts. 1967 Jrnl. Cell Sci. II. 613 Extensive nuclear fusion has been described in the trophocytes (nurse cells) in the ovaries of the milkweed bug Oncopeltus. |
| 1907 Harrods Catal. 1407 Cotton dresses, in good quality *Nurse Cloth. 1932 D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 248/2 Book Carrier..Blue nurse cloth, hessian or heavy Russian crash. |
| 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden Ep. Ded., To rush in bluntly with thy washing⁓bowle and thy *nurse-cloutes vnder thy cloake. |
| 1908 B. Harraden Interplay 210 Dr. Edgar can no doubt find you a *nurse-companion. 1973 A. Christie Postern of Fate iii. ii. 132 She was a kind of nurse-companion with Mrs. Beddingfield. |
| 1938 U.S. Dept. Agric. Yearbk. 409 Wheat is a good *nurse crop for the clover and grass. 1955 Archit. Rev. CXVII. 249 Even in hardwood country they [sc. conifers] are often required as nurse-crops to the deciduous trees. 1971 Country Life 4 Nov. 1237/1 Shall it [sc. seeding] be in spring or mid-August, under a nurse crop or without? |
| 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre III. iii. 98, I will be a servant, a *nurse-girl, if I can be no better. 1871 Mrs. H. Wood Dene Hollow xii, They have a fresh nursegirl, too. Polly had to send away the other. 1953 D. Lessing Five i. 16 There was a little black nurse-girl seated on one of the logs, under a big tree, with a white child in her arms. |
| 1896 Edin. Rev. Apr. 480 To make himself personally acquainted with the *nurse⁓land of the poet. |
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. v. 88 Neuer Master had A Page..So feate, so *Nurse-like. 1845 Busk tr. Steenstrup's Altern. Generations 89 note, They are developed from germ-granules in other ‘nurse’-like animals. |
| 1605 Camden Rem. 114 From Nicknames or *Nursenames came these..Bill for William, Clem for Clement. |
| 1664 Walton Angler xx. (ed. 4) 243 If you put them..into a *nurse-pond, or feeding pond,..then no care is to be taken whether there be most Male or Female Carps. |
| 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 382 Sir Thomas Bodley..a most worthy *Nource-sonne of this University. |
| 1878 Browning Poets Croisic iii, That old *nurse-taught game. |
▪ II. nurse, n.2 (
nɜːs)
Also 5
nusse, 6 ?
nuse.
[Perh. a variant of huss, with n from the article (see N 3); the later form is assimilated to prec.] a. A dog-fish or shark (of various species).
| 1499 Promp. Parv. (Pynson) 361/1 Nusse fisshe. 1598 Hakluyt Voy. I. 283 There we gate a great Nuse, which Nuses were there [near Nova Zembla] so plentie, that they would scarcely suffer any other fish to come neere the hookes. 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 25 The Fish near the Island are Sharks, Sword Fishes and Nurses... The Nurse is just like a Shark, only its skin is rougher. 1711 C. Lockyer Acct. Trade India 279 Small parcels of sherk's fins, nurses skins and tariands very reasonable. 1782 P. H. Bruce Mem. 424 They make plenty of oil from the nurses,..and a beneficial whale fishery might be established here. 1851 P. H. Gosse Nat. in Jamaica 243 The Nurse is of a dull brown hue on the upper parts, without spots. |
b. So
nurse-fish,
nurse-shark; also
nurse-hound, a name used for several dog-fish,
esp. the large-spotted dog-fish,
Scyliorhinus stellaris.
| c 1682 J. Collins Salt & Fishery 83 Their [sc. the Ice⁓landers'] Bread is also another sort of Fish, called Hokettle, or the *Nurse-Fish, which hath a sharp Ridge on his Back that cuts asunder Fishery-Tackle. |
| 1848 Zoologist VI. 1973 Larger Spotted Dog, S[cyllium] catulus,..commonly called ‘*nurse-hound’. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VII. 332/1 The Small-spotted Dog-fish..and the Large-spotted or Nurse Hound..are also known as ground-sharks. 1921 Nature 29 Dec. 585/1 The spur-dog and nurse-hound are viviparous. 1922 Ibid. 12 Jan. 55/2 Mr. E. Ford writes to inform us that the term ‘nurse-hound’ is applied at Plymouth to Scyliorhinus stellaris, which is not viviparous. We understand from the writer of our article that confusion has arisen from the fact that the name ‘nurse-hound’ is also used by fishermen in his district to refer to Mustelus vulgaris, which is viviparous. 1959 A. Hardy Fish & Fisheries ix. 179 The rough hound and the nurse hound are both spotted with dark spots..upon a lighter ground. 1967 [see huss n.]. 1969 A. Wheeler Fishes Brit. Is. & NW. Europe 44/1 The nurse hound is most common on rough, even rocky ground and it may be found within the algal zone close inshore, although it is most common in deeper water. 1972 [see huss n.]. |
| 1851 P. H. Gosse Nat. in Jamaica 241 The *nurse shark. 1879 Goode Anim. Res. & Fish. U.S. 69 Ginglymostoma cirratum..Nurse Shark.—Tropical Atlantic. |
▪ III. nurse, v. (
nɜːs)
Forms: 6–7
nource,
-se, 6–
nurse (7
-ce).
[Later form of nursh v., by assimilation to nurse n.1] 1. a. Of a woman: To suckle, and otherwise attend to, or simply to take care or charge of (an infant).
Cf. nurse n.1| 1535 Coverdale Exod. ii. 9 Take this childe, and nurse it for me... The woman toke the childe, and nursed it. 1546 T. Phaer Bk. Childr. T ij, So is it..comly for the own mother to nource her own childe. 1600 Pory tr. Leo's Africa 55 The women would not willingly nurse their owne children, but caused them to be suckled by goates. c 1620 Moryson Itin. iv. v. i. 458 The mothers..nurse not their owne Children, but send them forth (as in England) to be nursed in the Country. c 1670 Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 44 As she nursed his 3 elder brothers, so she nursed him. 1717 Addison tr. Ovid's Met. iii. Wks. 1721 I. 206 The Niseans, in their dark abode, Nurs'd secretly with milk the thriving God. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 51 His parents..sent their son to be nursed in the village of Settignano. 1827 Perils & Captivity (Constable's Misc.) 19 My mother was then nursing my youngest sister. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 150 Annie..Nursing the sickly babe, her latest-born. 1896 Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 413 So many mothers are unable to nurse their babies that a large proportion of infants have to be brought up by other means. |
b. intr. To give suck; to act as wet-nurse.
| 1789 W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 34 One of the most common faults of those who nurse for hire, is to dose children with stupefactives. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxiii. 290 When such persons begin to nurse, you should watch the effect of this new drain on the system. 1851 Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 316 That which may be superfluous is..eliminated by the Liver, the Sebaceous follicles of the Skin, and, in the female when nursing, by the Mammary glands. |
c. intr. To take the breast.
| 1893 Davis & Keating Mother & Child xxiii. 74 A sore or cracked nipple may bleed when the infant nurses. 1897 Trans. Amer. Pediatric Soc. IX. 40 The child seemed languid, and would not nurse. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling xi. 98 The fawn nuzzled her full udders and began to nurse. 1946 M. C. Self Horseman's Encycl. 289 It is important that the foal nurse as soon as he is strong enough to stand. 1963 M. McCarthy Group x. 223 If they gave him a second drink of water, he might not nurse properly when feeding time finally came. 1972 Sci. Amer. Dec. 18/2 After the fifth week..the kittens are able to pursue her around the cage until they can get hold of a nipple, after which the mother allows them to nurse. |
2. In
pass. a. To be reared or brought up in a certain place.
| 1526 Tindale Luke iv. 16 He cam to nazareth where he was noursed. 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. Ded. I. 5 A man..rather fostred in the bosome of Bellona, than nourced in Kentish soile. 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. i. C, Manie excellent learned wits, and religious mindes, are nursed there. 1637 Milton Lycidas 23 For we were nurst upon the self-same hill, Fed the same flock. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. iii. iii. 99 Like sister-antelopes..Nursed among lilies near a brimming stream. 1830 Tennyson Ode to Memory iv, Thou wert not nursed by the waterfall Which ever sounds and shines. |
b. To be brought up under certain conditions,
in a certain environment, etc.
| 1601 B. Jonson Poetaster v. i, True borne and nurst with all the Sciences. 1634 Milton Comus 34 His fair off-spring nurs't in Princely lore, Are coming to attend their Fathers state. 1775 Sheridan Duenna iii. iii, There is a chilling air around poverty, that often kills affection, that was not nursed in it. 1796 Coleridge Sibyl. Leaves, Ode to Georgiana, O Lady, nursed in pomp and pleasure! Whence learnt you that heroic measure? 1818 Shelley Rosal. & Helen 869 The fierce savage, nursed in hate. |
3. a. To foster, tend, cherish, take care of (a thing); to promote the growth or development of.
| a 1542 Wyatt in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 62 Why shoulde such spite be nursed then in thy thought! 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 70 God graunt the head and bodie both twoo To nourse eche other, better then they doo. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 15 All th' accommodations that thou bearst, Are nurst by basenesse. 1679 Establ. Test 15 Our Neighbors may..Nurse this Mitre till it shall devour the Crown. 1704 Lond. Gaz. No. 4068/3 Your Majesty so carefully Nurses our Establish'd Church. 1781 Cowper Table-T. 69 To nurse with tender care the thriving arts. 1784 ― Task iv. 383 The few small embers left she nurses well. 1834 Lytton Pompeii iii. ii, The land we live in yet nurses mysterious terror. 1859 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. xcviii. II. 86 The version of their telegraphic message..is just such as a man would use who wanted to nurse a duel. |
b. To supply (plants) with warmth or moisture; to tend or cultivate carefully.
| 1594 Kyd Cornelia iii. iii, Let fayre Nylus (wont to nurse your Corne) Couer your Land with Toades and Crocadils. 1633 Milton Arcades 46, I..live in Oak'n bowr, To nurse the Saplings tall. 1655 T. Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. (1746) 325 The Bohemians have Turneps as red outwardly as Blood..; they are counted so restorative and dainty, that the Emperor himself nurseth them in his Garden. 1781 Cowper Charity 573 True charity, a plant divinely nurs'd,..Thrives against hope. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho viii, Her favourite plants, St. Aubert had taught her to nurse. 1813 Marshall Gardening xiv. (ed. 5) 190 The pots are to be nursed and preserved moderately warm. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxii. 41 A flower..Strok'd by the breeze, by the sun nurs'd sturdily. |
c. To manage (land) carefully or economically.
| 1745 Season. Adv. Protestants 17 Protestants, who..have swarmed into many Stocks, built Houses,..and nursed the Land. 1790 Bystander 346 The young lord's estate was what they call nursed by his steward, during the time his lordship was a minor. 1815 Scott Guy M. ii, He nursed what property was yet left to him. |
d. To foster or cherish (a feeling, etc.) in one's own heart.
| a 1763 Shenstone Elegies xiii. 23 Say, shall we nurse the rage, assist the storm? 1791 Burke Th. French Aff. Wks. 1842 I. 573 Very great discontents every where prevail. But they only produce misery to those who nurse them at home. 1827 Scott Jrnl. 10 July, I had nursed the idea that he had been hasty in his resignation. 1866 Alger Solit. Nat. & Man iv. 225 In this profound retreat..he nursed and sang his love for Laura. 1879 Dixon Windsor II. 82 He could nurse his injuries for many years. |
e. To assist or cause (a thing) to develop
into a certain form, or
to a certain size.
| 1775 Johnson Tax. no Tyr. 4 Whose kindness was employed to nurse them into mischief. 1800 T. Moore Anacreon xlvi. 22 Little infant fruits we see Nursing into luxury! 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xxiv. 353 In this way crystals can be nursed to an enormous size. 1868 E. Edwards Ralegh I. xiii. 248 Men..who fancied it to be their interest..to nurse the embers of the old enmity into a flame. 1933 P. Godfrey Back-Stage ix. 131 A good play which does not catch on at once may sometimes be ‘nursed’ to genuine success. 1936 Discovery May 164/1 If two climbers can be ‘nursed’ to that height the victory [over Everest] may at last be won. 1942 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) II. 72 The instructor is, therefore, less able to..nurse each individual into efficiency. |
4. To bring or rear
up with care.
| 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. ii. 134 Duke. What is that Barnardine..? Pro. A Bohemian borne: But here nurst vp & bred. 1629 Parkinson (title), Paradisi..; or a Garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our English ayre will permitt to be noursed vp. 1676 Marvell Mr. Smirke I iij b, No Christian Emperor did more make it his business to Nurse up the Church. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 164, I was loth..to have them all [sc. goats] to nurse up over again. 1790 Trans. Soc. Arts VIII. 5 One row of Scotch firs, in order to nurse up the Oaks. |
5. a. To wait upon, attend to (a person who is ill).
| 1736 Swift Let. to Pope 22 Apr., Nothing..could hinder me from waiting on you at Twickenham, and nursing you to Paris. 1782 Johnson in Boswell 21 Mar., This season I have been almost wholly employed in nursing myself. 1837 H. Martineau Soc. Amer. 154 They will utterly neglect a sick parent or husband; while they will nurse a white mistress with much ostentation. 1881 Encycl. Brit. XII. 305/2 The arrangements for nursing the sick have greatly improved in recent times. |
b. To try to cure (an illness or injury) by taking care of oneself. Also, to take or drive
away by nursing.
| 1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xix. 129 She had a bad cold, and chose to nurse it. 1785 in T. Hutchinson Diary II. 417 Tell her it is of great importance to her to nurse her cold. 1813 Lady Burghersh Lett. (1893) 26 My cold..has returned, and I am nursing it before I sail again. 1854 Monckton Milnes Life (1891) I. xi. 497, I am nursing an influenza which came on the evening I got here. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche Oct. 17 But sleep, the gracious pursuivant of toil, Came swiftly down, and nursed away her care. 1951 N.Y. Times 11 Dec., The..pilot was safely at his home.. nursing only a slight scratch on his nose. |
c. intr. To perform the duties of a sick-nurse.
| 1861 F. Nightingale Nursing (ed. 2) 5 Other bad arrangements often make it impossible to nurse. |
6. a. To clasp (the knee, etc.) in one's hands.
| 1849 C. Brontë Shirley xxvii, With nonchalant air, and left foot nursed on his right knee. 1873 Black Pr. Thule vi. 86 A gentleman..was sitting on the grass, nursing his knees. |
b. To hold caressingly or carefully, as a nurse does a child,
esp. in the arms or on the lap.
| 1850 H. Martineau Hist. Peace v. viii. II. 338 The Premier might now have less leisure..for blowing feathers, and nursing sofa cushions. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. xxx, Then Caddy hung upon her father, and nursed his cheek against hers as if he were some poor dull child in pain. 1887 ‘Edna Lyall’ Knt. Errant xi, They..drove home again, Francesca nursing a Dying Gladiator in terra-cotta. |
c. To sit close to, as if taking care of.
| 1857 Hughes Tom Brown iv, And there he found his father nursing a bright fire. |
d. With a drink as object: to consume slowly, holding the glass in the hand between sips.
| 1942 Sun (Baltimore) 5 Oct. 13/4 They buy several drinks in the bar, then they come in to catch the floor show, and nurse one drink along. 1962 K. Orvis Damned & Destroyed xiii. 88 ‘Don't nurse this—drink it!’ I said. She gulped the straight whisky gratefully. 1964 B. Malamud Idiots First 70 Cronin, pretty much contented, had had one drink to her two, and he was nursing his first when she asked for a third. 1974 R. B. Parker God save Child (1975) xix. 134 A thin black man..was nursing a brandy glass at..the bar. |
7. slang. a. (See
quots.)
rare—0.
| 1796 Grose's Dict. Vulg. Tongue (ed. 3), Nurse, to cheat; as, They nursed him out of it. 1859 Slang Dict. 69 Nurse to cheat, or swindle; trustees are said to nurse property, i.e. gradually eat it up themselves. |
b. To keep close to (a rival omnibus) in such a way as to prevent it from getting a fair share of passengers (
esp. as in
quot. 1859).
| 1858 Morning Chron. 8 Mar. (Cassell), The cause of the delay was that the defendant was waiting to nurse one of their omnibuses. 1859 Slang Dict. 69 Two omnibuses are placed on the road to nurse, or oppose each opposition ‘buss’, one before, the other behind. 1882 Standard 28 Feb. 3/8 The Defendant had ‘nursed’ one of the Company's cars from Chancery-lane to Charing Cross. |
c. To impede (a horse) in a race, by surrounding it with other and slower ones.
| 1893 P. H. Emerson Signor Lippo xvi. 75 Some of 'em wanted to ‘nurse’ me, but I managed to give the mare a touch of the spur, and she flew out. |
8. a. To keep in touch with or influence (a constituency) in order to obtain votes.
| 1869 Latest News 17 Oct., To ‘nurse’ the borough cost him {pstlg}500 a year at least. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. (1890) I. xix. 262 An ambitious congressman is therefore forced to think..of his re-nomination, and to secure it..by sedulously ‘nursing’ the constituency during the vacations. |
b. To assist (a business house) so as to prevent its bankruptcy.
| 1890 Daily News 29 Dec. 2/2 The tendency to ‘nurse’ financial houses has grown to a striking extent. |
9. Billiards. To keep (the balls) close to one another in order to enable a prolonged series of cannons to be made.
| 1869 Buck Roberts on Billiards 27 When Tieman was 200 points ahead, and sure of a great break, he ‘nursed’ the balls until 70 had been scored. 1896 W. Broadfoot Billiards 28 His [Cook's] beautiful delicacy of touch was more striking than ever, and he ‘nursed’ the balls with even more than his old skill. |
Hence
ˈnursed ppl. a.| 1859 Slang Dict. 69 The central or nursed buss has very little chance, unless it happens to be a favourite with the public. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 667 In carefully nursed children it is generally observed in the first two months. |