crèche

noun

ˈkresh  ˈkrāsh 

1

: a representation of the Nativity (see nativity sense 1) scene

2

: day nursery

3

: a foundling hospital

4

: a group of young animals (such as penguins or bats) gathered in one place for care and protection usually by one or more adults

Did you know?

She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a cratch. That may not sound like a familiar translation of Luke 2:7, but back in the 1300s, the substitution of cratch for manger probably wouldn't have raised any eyebrows. Back then spelling was imprecise, and several different words and spellings, including cratch, cracche, crache, and crecche, were used to describe a trough for holding feed for livestock or to identify the manger where Jesus was laid. By the late 18th century, crèche (which we borrowed from French and now sometimes spell without the accent mark) had displaced those older forms, and the word had lost its former "manger" meaning, coming to refer instead to a representation of the Nativity scene itself.

Synonyms

• preschool
• nursery

Examples of crèche in a Sentence

one of the first cities to establish crèches so that poor women with children could work outside of the home

Word History

Etymology

French, from Old French creche manger, crib, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German krippa manger — more at crib

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

crèche

noun

ˈkresh 

: a scene representing the Nativity in the stable at Bethlehem

Medical Definition

crèche

noun

ˈkresh, ˈkrāsh

1

: day nursery

2

: a foundling hospital