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Nurse

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nurse

  [nurs] noun, verb, nursed, nurs⋅ing.
Use Nurse in a Sentence
1. a person formally educated and trained in the care of the sick or infirm. Compare nurse-midwife, nurse-practitioner, physician's assistant, practical nurse, registered nurse.
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)
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)
18. to suckle a child, esp. 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.
Origin:
1350–1400; (n.) ME, var. of n(o)urice, norice < OF < LL nūtrīcia, n. use of fem. of L nūtrīcius nutritious; (v.) earlier nursh (reduced form of nourish ), assimilated to the n.

Synonyms:
9. encourage, abet, help, aid, back. 14. rear, raise. Nurse, nourish, nurture may be used almost interchangeably to refer to bringing up the young. Nurse, however, suggests attendance and service; nourish emphasizes providing whatever is needful for development; and nurture suggests tenderness and solicitude in training mind and manners.

Antonyms:
7, 9. neglect.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Nursing School Online
Registered Nurses Can Earn a BSN or MSN Online in as few as 18 Mos!
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www.CourseAdvisor.com/Nursing
nurse   (nûrs)   
n.  

  1. A person educated and trained to care for the sick or disabled.

    1. A woman employed to take care of a child; a nursemaid.

    2. A woman employed to suckle children other than her own; a wet nurse.

  3. One that serves as a nurturing or fostering influence or means: "Town life is the nurse of civilization" (C.L.R. James).

  4. Zoology A worker ant or bee that feeds and cares for the colony's young.

v.   nursed, nurs·ing, nurs·es

v.   tr.

  1. To serve as a nurse for: nursed the patient back to health.

    1. To cause or allow to take milk from the breast: a mother nursing her baby.

    2. To feed at the breast of; suckle.

  3. To try to cure by special care or treatment: nurse a cough with various remedies.

  4. To treat carefully, especially in order to prevent pain: He nursed his injured knee by shifting his weight to the other leg.

  5. To manage or guide carefully; look after with care; foster: nursed her business through the depression. See Synonyms at nurture.

  6. To bear privately in the mind: nursing a grudge.

  7. To consume slowly, especially in order to conserve: nursed one drink all evening.

v.   intr.

  1. To serve as a nurse.

  2. To take nourishment from the breast; suckle.


[Middle English norice, nurse, wet nurse, from Old French norrice, from Vulgar Latin *nutrīcia, from Late Latin nūtrīcia, from feminine of Latin nūtrīcius, that suckles, from nūtrīx, nūtrīc-, wet nurse; see (s)nāu- in Indo-European roots.]
nurs'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

nurse  (n.1)
12c., nurrice "wet nurse, foster-mother to a young child," from O.Fr. norrice (source of proper name Norris), from L.L. *nutricia "nurse, governess, tutoress," from L., fem. of nutricius "that suckles, nourishes," from nutrix (gen. nutricis) "wet nurse," from nutrire "to suckle" (see nourish). Meaning "person who takes care of sick" first recorded in Eng. 1590; the verb is first attested 1535 in sense of "to suckle (an infant)," 1526 in the passive sense, alt. of M.E. nurshen (13c.; see nourish), originally "to bring up or suckle a child," sense of "take care of (a sick person)" is first recorded 1736.

nurse  (n.2)
"dog fish, shark," 1499, of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1nurse
Pronunciation: 'n&rs
Function: noun
1 : a woman who suckles an infant not her own : WET NURSE
2 : a person who cares for the sick or infirm; specifically : a licensedhealth-care professional who practices independently or is supervised by a physician, surgeon, or dentist and who is skilled in promoting and maintaining health —see LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE, LICENSEDVOCATIONAL NURSE, REGISTERED NURSE

Main Entry: 2nurse
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: nursed; nurs·ing
transitive senses
1 a : to nourish at thebreast : SUCKLE b : to take nourishment from the breast of : suck milk from
2 a : to care for and wait on (as an injured or infirm person) b : to attempt a cure of (as an ailment) by care and treatment nurse intransitive senses
1a : to feed an offspring from the breast b : to feed at the breast : SUCK
2 : to act or serve as a nurse
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

nurse (nûrs)
n.

  1. A person trained to care for the sick or disabled, especially one educated in the scientific basis of human response to health problems and trained to assist a physician.

  2. A wet nurse.

  3. An individual who cares for an infant or young child.

v. nursed, nurs·ing, nurs·es

  1. To serve as a nurse.

  2. To provide or take nourishment from the breast; suckle.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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