nursery

English Online Dictionary. What means nursery‎? What does nursery mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English noricerie, norserye (“children's nursery; state of being fostered or nursed; education, upbringing”) [and other forms], from Old French norricerie, nourricerie, from norrice, nourrice (modern French nourrice (“childminder, nanny; wet nurse”)) + -erie (suffix forming feminine nouns). Norrice and nourrice are derived from Late Latin nūtrīcia (“wet nurse”), from Latin nūtrīcius (“that nurses or suckles; nourishing”), from nūtriō (“to breastfeed, nurse, suckle”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂- (“to flow”). The English word may be analysed as nourice, nurse +‎ -ery (suffix forming nouns meaning ‘place of’).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnɜːsəɹi/, /ˈnɜːsɹi/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnɝsəɹi/, /ˈnɝsɹi/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)səɹi
• Hyphenation: nurs‧e‧ry

Noun

nursery (countable and uncountable, plural nurseries)

1. (countable) A place where nursing (“breastfeeding”) or the raising of children is carried on.
   1. (by extension) Especially in European countries: a room or area in a household set apart for the care of children.
   2. (UK, chiefly British) An institution for small children who not yet have begun primary school during daytime (when their parents work); a daycare centre.

      Synonyms: crèche, nursery school, preschool

   3. (Philippines) The first year of pre-school.
2. (countable, also figuratively) A place where anything is fostered and growth promoted.
   1. (agriculture, zoology) A place where animals breed, or where young animals are naturally or artificially reared (for example, on a farm).
   3. (horticulture) A place where young shrubs, trees, vines, etc., are cultivated for transplanting, or (more generally) made available for public sale, a garden centre; also (obsolete) a plantation of young trees.
   4. (sports) A club or team for developing the skills of young players.
3. (countable) Something which educates and nurtures.
4. (countable, billiards) Short for nursery cannon (“a carom shot involving balls that are very close together”).
5. (countable, obsolete, rare) Someone or something that is nursed; a nursling.
6. (uncountable, obsolete) The act of nursing or rearing.

Derived terms

Related terms

• nurse

Translations

Notes

References

Further reading

• nursery (room) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• nursery habitat on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• nursery school on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• plant nursery on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• nursery (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English nursery.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɛr.se.ri/, /ˈnør.se.ri/
• Rhymes: -ɛrseri, -eri
• Hyphenation: nur‧se‧ry

Noun

nursery f (invariable)

1. nursery (place for the care of children)

References

Middle English

Noun

nursery

1. Alternative form of noricerie