Nearby Words

nurture

[nur-cher] Example Sentences Origin

nur·ture

[nur-cher] verb, -tured, -tur·ing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to feed and protect: to nurture one's offspring.
2.
to support and encourage, as during the period of training or development; foster: to nurture promising musicians.
3.
to bring up; train; educate.
noun
4.
rearing, upbringing, training, education, or the like.
5.
development: the nurture of young artists.
6.
something that nourishes; nourishment; food.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Nurture is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to bark; yelp.

Origin:
1300–50; (noun) Middle English norture < Middle French, variant of nourriture < Late Latin nūtrītūra a nourishing, equivalent to Latin nūtrīt(us) (past participle of nūtrīre to feed, nourish) + -ūra -ure; (v.) derivative of the noun

nur·tur·a·ble, adjective
nur·ture·less, adjective
nur·tur·er, noun
un·nur·tured, adjective
well-nur·tured, adjective


1, 3. See nurse.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To nurture
Example Sentences
  • We're offering new fiction and trying to nurture new writers.
  • Uranus does not nurture as the Moon should, it disrupts.
  • So again the answer to why a person has a certain characteristic can be both nature and nurture.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
nurture (ˈnɜːtʃə)
 
n
1.  the act or process of promoting the development, etc, of a child
2.  something that nourishes
3.  biology See also nature the environmental factors that partly determine the structure of an organism
 
vb
4.  to feed or support
5.  to educate or train
 
[C14: from Old French norriture, from Latin nutrīre to nourish]
 
'nurturable
 
adj
 
'nurturer
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

nurture
early 14c. (n.), "breeding, upbringing," from O.Fr. nourriture "nourishment," from L.L. nutritia (see nursery). The verb meaning "to feed or nourish" is attested from earlly 15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature