n. & v.
--n.
1. a a child's bed or cot, esp. one mounted on rockers. b a place in which a thing begins, esp. a civilization etc., or is nurtured in its infancy (cradle of choral singing; cradle of democracy).
2 a framework resembling a cradle, esp.: a that on which a ship, a boat, etc., rests during construction or repairs. b that on which a worker is suspended to work on a ceiling, a ship, the vertical side of a building, etc. c the part of a telephone on which the receiver rests when not in use.
--v.tr.
1. contain or shelter as if in a cradle (cradled his head in her arms).
2 place in a cradle.
Phrases and idioms:
cradle-snatcher sl. a person amorously attached to a much younger person. cradle-song a lullaby. from the cradle from infancy. from the cradle to the grave from infancy till death (esp. of State welfare).
Etymology: OE cradol, perh. rel. to OHG kratto basket