nurse English · revision 5511

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la nūtrīre}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /nɜːs/, US /nɝːs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun is contracted, [[inh|enm|norice|alt=nurrice, norice]], [[bor|fro|norrice|t=foster-mother, wet-nurse]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-lat|*nūtrīcia|t=nurse, governess]], the feminine of [[m|la|nūtrīcius|t=that suckles, nourishes]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|nūtrīx|t=wet-nurse]], from [[m|la|nūtrīre|t=to suckle, nourish]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The verb is an alteration of Middle English nurshen, norishen “to nourish”, influenced by the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Old French norrice is also the source of the name Norris.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A wet-nurse or foster-mother: about 1200 in Etymonline, before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle according to Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The modern contracted form is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 16th century a nurse was also a servant who looked after a child.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense, that which nourishes or fosters, is from 1526.^(OED 1989) A person who cares for the sick is first recorded in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors (1590),^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and Nurse as a title from 1702.^(OED 1989) The verb is from the 1520s for bringing up a child and the 1530s for suckling;^(Etymonline) to look after the sick is from 1736.^(Etymonline) To hold or treat carefully, as in nursing a drink or a grudge, is a later figurative use.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a wet-nurse.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – to bring up a child.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590 – a person who cares for the sick.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1702 – Nurse as a title.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1736 – to look after the sick.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person trained to care for sick or injured people, especially in a [[hospital]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(dated)'' A woman employed to look after young children; a nursemaid.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A woman who breast-feeds another woman's baby; a wet nurse.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To look after a sick person.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To [[breast-feed]] a baby.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To treat an injury carefully so that it heals.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To hold a feeling for a long time: ''nurse a grudge''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nurser]]

+ * [[dry-nurse]]

+ * [[nurse-practitioner]]

+ * [[wet-nurse]]

+ * [[nursemaid]]

+ * [[nursling]]

+ * [[overnurse]]

+ * [[undernurse]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nursery]]

+ * [[nourish]]

+ * [[nutrition]]

+ * [[nutritious]]

+ * [[nutrient]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Nurse, a name for various sharks and dogfishes (as in ''nurse shark''), is from about 1500 and of unknown origin; it may be the same word, or a different one, earlier nuss, changed to match it.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}