Etymology From Middle English norice, from Old French norrice, from Late Latin nūtrīcia, noun based on Latin nūtrīcius (“that which nourishes”), from nūtrīx (“wet nurse”), from nūtriō (“to suckle”).
Informal Anyone performing this role, regardless of training or profession.
My aunt was my nurse while I recuperated at home from surgery.
2
A medical worker performing this role, typically someone trained to provide such care but having credentials and rank below a doctor or physician assistant.
The nurse made her rounds through the hospital ward.
Francis Urquhart: Right. Mackenzie. Health. No chance of getting him into a demo at a hospital, I suppose? Tim Stamper: Doesn't go to hospitals any more. Kept getting beaten up by the nurses... I think he has trouble getting insured now.1990, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, House of Cards, season 1, episode 4:
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Government, Healthcare A medical worker, such as a registered nurse, having training, credentials, and rank above a nurse assistant.
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A person (usually a woman) who takes care of other people’s children.
They hired a nurse to care for their young boy.
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Figuratively One who, or that which, brings up, rears, causes to grow, trains, or fosters.
Eton College has been called "the chief nurse of England's statesmen".
the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC:
Etymology From Middle English norice, from Old French norrice, from Late Latin nūtrīcia, noun based on Latin nūtrīcius (“that which nourishes”), from nūtrīx (“wet nurse”), from nūtriō (“to suckle”).
To breastfeed: to feed (a baby) at the breast; to suckle.
She believes that nursing her baby will make him strong and healthy.
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To breastfeed: to be fed at the breast.
3
To care for (someone), especially in sickness; to tend to.
She nursed him back to health.
4
To tend gently and with extra care.
She nursed the rosebush and that season it bloomed.
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To manage or oversee (something) with care and economy.
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Informal To drink (a beverage) slowly, so as to make it last.
Rob was nursing a small beer.
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Figuratively To cultivate or persistently entertain (an attitude, usually negative) in one's mind; to brood or obsess over.
to nurse a grudge
to nurse a grievance
1 more example
If, like me, you have been confined to your home, glued to the news and nursing ever greater anxiety about the state of the world, you have probably become familiar with the sight of the World Health Organization’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and his daily press briefings.2020 April 10, Stephen Buranyi, “The WHO v coronavirus: why it can't handle the pandemic”, in The Guardian:
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To hold closely to one's chest.
Would you like to nurse the puppy?
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Ball games, Billiards, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To strike (billiard balls) gently, so as to keep them in good position during a series of shots.
It is to our interest to let Lee and Johnston come together, just as a billiard-player would nurse the balls when he has them in a nice place1866, United States. Congress. Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Supplemental report of the Joint Committee: