CRADLE


Meaning of CRADLE in English

I. ˈkrā-d ə l noun

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

Date: before 12th century

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

II. verb

( cra·dled ; cra·dling ˈkrād-liŋ, ˈkrā-d ə l-iŋ)

Date: 15th century

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

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.