NOURISH


Meaning of NOURISH in English

ˈnər.]ish, ˈnə.r], ]ēsh, chiefly in pres part ]əsh verb

( -ed/-ing/-es )

Etymology: Middle English nurishen, norishen, norissen, from Old French norriss-, stem of norrir, from Latin nutrire; akin to Latin nare, natare to swim, Greek nan to flow, nein to swim, noteros damp, Sanskrit snauti it drips, snāti he bathes

transitive verb

1.

a. : to bring up : raise , nurture , rear

to save my boy, to nourish and bring him up — Shakespeare

it was for Chaucer, nourished in other literatures … to make rapid advances on the road of English poetry — H.S.Bennett

nourished in the old bootlegger days … demanded his cut from every pie — George Carter

b. archaic : to bring up (an animal) : raise

episcopal visitors were recording … that it was scandalous to nourish hunting dogs in monasteries — G.G.Coulton

2. : to promote or stimulate the growth or development of : build up , strengthen

has nourished in us the dream of liberty — Liston Pope

no occasions to exercise the feelings nor nourish passion — L.O.Coxe

3. : breast-feed , suckle

wish she would not see fit to sit down and nourish her baby in my poor old bachelor drawing room — H.G.Wells

4.

a. : to furnish or sustain with food or nutriment

the human body can be nourished on any food — R.W.Emerson

the rain which nourished the bushes — Laura Krey

the heart speeds up and the blood pressure rises to better nourish the tissues — H.G.Armstrong

b. : to provide with sustenance

the glow of a fire nourished by partially dried logs — P.A.Talbot

this great work nourished American lawyers — Howard M. Jones

c. : to provide for : maintain , support

thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen … and there will I nourish thee — Gen. 45:10-11 (Authorized Version)

welfare committees whose task it is to nourish the social life of old people — M.A.Abrams

their profits flow into the underworld and nourish other criminal activities — Beverly Smith

5.

a. archaic : to grow or let grow (one's hair)

nourished two locks, which graceful hung behind in equal curls — Alexander Pope

b. archaic : to cultivate (as plants or trees)

it's a' for the apple he'll nourish the tree — Robert Burns

6. : to cherish or keep alive (as a feeling or plan)

nourished the hope that something might come of it later — L.C.Douglas

nourish a shrewd distrust of anybody who looked like a big tycoon — F.L.Allen

for many years had nourished the project of a trip abroad

intransitive verb

1. obsolete : to furnish nourishment

grains and roots nourish more than the leaves — Francis Bacon

2. : to receive nourishment : be fed

thrives and nourishes where poverty prevails — M.O.Purcell

Synonyms: see feed

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.