Wet nurse

Wet nurse
Nurse Nurse (n[^u]rs), n. [OE. nourse, nurice, norice, OF. nurrice, norrice, nourrice, F. nourrice, fr. L. nutricia nurse, prop., fem. of nutricius that nourishes; akin to nutrix, -icis, nurse, fr. nutrire to nourish. See {Nourish}, and cf. {Nutritious}.] 1. One who nourishes; a person who supplies food, tends, or brings up; as: (a) A woman who has the care of young children; especially, one who suckles an infant not her own. (b) A person, especially a woman, who has the care of the sick or infirm. [1913 Webster]

2. One who, or that which, brings up, rears, causes to grow, trains, fosters, or the like. [1913 Webster]

The nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

3. (Naut.) A lieutenant or first officer, who is the real commander when the captain is unfit for his place. [1913 Webster]

4. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A peculiar larva of certain trematodes which produces cercari[ae] by asexual reproduction. See {Cercaria}, and {Redia}. (b) Either one of the nurse sharks. [1913 Webster]

{Nurse shark}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A large arctic shark ({Somniosus microcephalus}), having small teeth and feeble jaws; -- called also {sleeper shark}, and {ground shark}. (b) A large shark ({Ginglymostoma cirratum}), native of the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico, having the dorsal fins situated behind the ventral fins.

{To put to nurse}, or {To put out to nurse}, to send away to be nursed; to place in the care of a nurse.

{Wet nurse}, {Dry nurse}. See {Wet nurse}, and {Dry nurse}, in the Vocabulary. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • wet-nurse — [wet′nʉrs΄] vt. wet nursed, wet nursing 1. to act as wet nurse to 2. to give overly careful attention to …   English World dictionary

  • Wet nurse — A nurse who suckles a child, especially the child of another woman. Cf. {Dry nurse}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wet nurse — wet nurses also wet nurse N COUNT In former times, a wet nurse was a woman who was paid to breast feed another woman s baby …   English dictionary

  • wet-nurse — /wet nerrs /, v.t., wet nursed, wet nursing. 1. to act as a wet nurse to (an infant). 2. to give excessive care or attention to; treat as if helpless: The warden is accused of wet nursing his prisoners. [1775 85] * * * …   Universalium

  • wet-nurse — wet ,nurse verb transitive to be a child s wet nurse a. to treat an adult like a child, especially by protecting or helping them too much …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • wet-nurse — wet′ nurse v. t. nursed, nurs•ing 1) to act as a wet nurse to (an infant) 2) to give excessive care or attention to • Etymology: 1775–85 …   From formal English to slang

  • wet nurse — n a woman who cares for and suckles young not her own * * * a woman who breast feeds the infant of another …   Medical dictionary

  • wet nurse — n old use a woman paid to give her breast milk to another woman s baby …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • wet-nurse — v [T] to give someone too much care and attention, as if they were a child …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • wet-nurse — v [T] to give someone too much care and attention, as if they were a child …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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