cra·dle   (krād'l)    n.   A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers. The earliest period of life: had an interest in music almost from the cradle. A place of origin; a birthplace: the cradle of civilization. A framework of wood or metal used to support something, such as a ship undergoing construction or repair. A framework used to protect an injured limb. A frame projecting above a scythe, used to catch grain as it is cut so that it can be laid flat. A scythe equipped with such a frame. A framework of wood or metal used to support something, such as a ship undergoing construction or repair. A framework used to protect an injured limb. A frame projecting above a scythe, used to catch grain as it is cut so that it can be laid flat. A scythe equipped with such a frame. A low flat framework that rolls on casters, used by a mechanic working beneath an automobile. Also called creeper. The part of a telephone that contains the connecting switch upon which the receiver and mouthpiece unit is supported. A frame projecting above a scythe, used to catch grain as it is cut so that it can be laid flat. A scythe equipped with such a frame. A boxlike device furnished with rockers, used for washing gold-bearing dirt. v.   cra·dled, cra·dling, cra·dles v.   tr. To place or retain in or as if in a cradle. To care for or nurture in infancy. To hold or support protectively: cradled the cat in his arms. To reap (grain) with a cradle. To place or support (a ship, for example) in a cradle. To wash (gold-bearing dirt) in a cradle. v.   intr. Obsolete To lie in or as if in a cradle. [Middle English cradel, from Old English.] cra'dler n.

Cradle

Cra"dle\ (kr[=a]d'l), n. [AS. cradel, cradol, prob. from Celtic; cf. Gael. creathall, Ir. craidhal, W. cryd a shaking or rocking, a cradle; perh. akin to E. crate.]

1. A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots; hence, the place of origin, or in which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier period of existence; as, a cradle of crime; the cradle of liberty.

The cradle that received thee at thy birth. --Cowper.

No sooner was I crept out of my cradle But I was made a king, at nine months old. --Shak.

2. Infancy, or very early life.

From their cradles bred together. --Shak.

A form of worship in which they had been educated from their cradles. --Clarendon.

3. (Agric.) An implement consisting of a broad scythe for cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it evenly in a swath.

4. (Engraving) A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the plate, so preparing the ground.

5. A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.

6. (Med.) (a) A case for a broken or dislocated limb. (b) A frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with the person.

7. (Mining) (a) A machine on rockers, used in washing out auriferous earth; -- also called a rocker. [U.S.] (b) A suspended scaffold used in shafts.

8. (Carp.) The ribbing for vaulted ceilings and arches intended to be covered with plaster. --Knight.

9. (Naut.) The basket or apparatus in which, when a line has been made fast to a wrecked ship from the shore, the people are brought off from the wreck.

Cat's cradle. See under Cat.

Cradle hole, a sunken place in a road, caused by thawing, or by travel over a soft spot.

Cradle scythe, a broad scythe used in a cradle for cutting grain.

cradle 

Main Entry: cra·dle
Pronunciation: 'krAd-^&l
Function: noun
1 : a bed or cot for a baby usually on rockers or pivots
2a : a frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with an injured part of the body b : a frame placed on the neck of an animal to keep it from biting an injury or sore

cradle cra·dle (krād'l)
n.

1. A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers.
2. A frame used to keep the bedclothes from pressing on an injured part.

cradle

see from the cradle to the grave; rob the cradle.

cradle

in furniture, infant's bed of wood, wicker, or iron, having enclosed sides and suspended from a bar, slung upon pivots, or mounted on rockers. The rocking motion of the cradle is intended to lull the infant to sleep. The cradle is an ancient type of furniture, and its origins are unknown. Early cradles developed from hollowed-out tree trunks to oblong, lidless wood boxes, originally with apparently detachable rockers. Later cradles were paneled and carved, supported on pillars, inlaid, or mounted in gilded bronze.

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