cradle

¹cra·dle

noun \ˈkrā-d^əl\

Definition of CRADLE

1

a : a bed or cot for a baby usually on rockers or pivots

b : a framework or support suggestive of a baby's cradle: as (1) : a framework of bars and rods (2) : the support for a telephone receiver or handset

c : an implement with rods like fingers attached to a scythe and used formerly for harvesting grain

d : a frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with an injured part of the body

2

a : the earliest period of life : infancy <from the cradle to the grave>

b : a place of origin <the cradle of civilization>

3

: a rocking device used in panning for gold

Examples of CRADLE

1. She placed the phone back on its cradle.
2. A number of ships were resting in their cradles in the shipyard.

Origin of CRADLE

Middle English cradel, from Old English cradol; perhaps akin to Old High German kratto basket, Sanskrit grantha knot

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to CRADLE

Synonyms

birthplace, home, mother country, motherland

Related Words

hometown; Blighty [chiefly British], country, nativity, old country, roots

Other Furniture and Woodworking Terms

appoint, credenza, mission, settee

Rhymes with CRADLE

dreidel, ladle, wedel

²cradle

verb

cra·dledcra·dling \ˈkrād-liŋ, ˈkrā-d^əl-iŋ\

Definition of CRADLE

transitive verb

1

a : to place or keep in or as if in a cradle

b : shelter, rear

c : to support protectively or intimately <cradling the injured man's head in her arms>

2

: to cut (grain) with a cradle scythe

3

: to place, raise, support, or transport on a cradle

intransitive verb

obsolete : to rest in or as if in a cradle

Examples of CRADLE

1. He cradled her face in his hands.
2. She was cradling the injured man's head in her arms.

First Known Use of CRADLE

15th century

Rhymes with CRADLE

ladle

cra·dle

noun \ˈkrād-^əl\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of CRADLE

1

: a bed or cot for a baby usually on rockers or pivots

2

a : 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