ZebraWords.com - The Definition of 'Cradle', Synonyms of 'Cradle' & More on 'Cradle'

1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)

cradle
    n 1: a baby bed with sides and rockers
    2: where something originated or was nurtured in its early
       existence; "the birthplace of civilization" [syn:
       birthplace, cradle, place of origin, provenance,
       provenience]
    3: birth of a person; "he was taught from the cradle never to
       cry"
    4: a trough that can be rocked back and forth; used by gold
       miners to shake auriferous earth in water in order to
       separate the gold [syn: rocker, cradle]
    v 1: hold gently and carefully; "He cradles the child in his
         arms"
    2: bring up from infancy
    3: hold or place in or as if in a cradle; "He cradled the infant
       in his arms"
    4: cut grain with a cradle scythe
    5: wash in a cradle; "cradle gold"
    6: run with the stick

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Cradle \Cra"dle\, v. i.
   To lie or lodge, as in a cradle.
   [1913 Webster]

         Withered roots and husks wherein the acorn cradled.
                                                  --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

3. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Cradle \Cra"dle\ (kr[=a]d'l), n. [AS. cradel, cradol, prob. from
   Celtic; cf. Gael. creathall, Ir. craidhal, W. cryd a shaking
   or rocking, a cradle; perh. akin to E. crate.]
   1. A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or
      swinging on pivots; hence, the place of origin, or in
      which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier
      period of existence; as, a cradle of crime; the cradle of
      liberty.
      [1913 Webster]

            The cradle that received thee at thy birth.
                                                  --Cowper.
      [1913 Webster]

            No sooner was I crept out of my cradle
            But I was made a king, at nine months old. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Infancy, or very early life.
      [1913 Webster]

            From their cradles bred together.     --Shak.
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            A form of worship in which they had been educated
            from their cradles. --Clarendon.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Agric.) An implement consisting of a broad scythe for
      cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the
      scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it
      evenly in a swath.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. (Engraving) A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by
      a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the
      plate, so preparing the ground.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or
      rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other
      vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or
      across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. (Med.)
      (a) A case for a broken or dislocated limb.
      (b) A frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with the
          person.
          [1913 Webster]

   7. (Mining)
      (a) A machine on rockers, used in washing out auriferous
          earth; -- also called a rocker. [U.S.]
      (b) A suspended scaffold used in shafts.
          [1913 Webster]

   8. (Carp.) The ribbing for vaulted ceilings and arches
      intended to be covered with plaster. --Knight.
      [1913 Webster]

   9. (Naut.) The basket or apparatus in which, when a line has
      been made fast to a wrecked ship from the shore, the
      people are brought off from the wreck.
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   Cat's cradle. See under Cat.

   Cradle hole, a sunken place in a road, caused by thawing,
      or by travel over a soft spot.

   Cradle scythe, a broad scythe used in a cradle for cutting
      grain.
      [1913 Webster]

4. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Cradle \Cra"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cradled (-d'ld); p. pr.
   & vb. n. Cradling (-dl?ng).]
   1. To lay to rest, or rock, as in a cradle; to lull or quiet,
      as by rocking.
      [1913 Webster]

            It cradles their fears to sleep.      --D. A. Clark.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To nurse or train in infancy.
      [1913 Webster]

            He that hath been cradled in majesty will not leave
            the throne to play with beggars.      --Glanvill.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To cut and lay with a cradle, as grain.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To transport a vessel by means of a cradle.
      [1913 Webster]

            In Lombardy . . . boats are cradled and transported
            over the grade.                       --Knight.
      [1913 Webster]

   To cradle a picture, to put ribs across the back of a
      picture, to prevent the panels from warping.
      [1913 Webster]

Thesaurus Results for Cradle:

1. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

Colonial bed, Hollywood bed, Vaterland, afford support, appease, babyhood, back, back up, bassinet, bear, bear up, bed, bed-davenport, beginnings, berth, birth, birthplace, bolster, bolster up, brace, breeding place, brooder, bunk, bunk bed, buoy up, buttress, calm, calm down, camp bed, care for, carry, cherish, childhood, clarifier, coddle, colander, compose, cool, cosset, cot, crib, cribble, crutch, cultivate, cushion, day bed, door bed, double bed, double bunk, dry-nurse, dulcify, duplex bed, ease, even out, fatherland, feather bed, feed, filter, fold-away bed, fondle, forcing bed, foster, four-poster, freshman year, genesis, gentle, give support, hammock, hatchery, hold, hold up, home, homeground, homeland, hospital bed, hotbed, hush, inception, inchoation, incipience, incipiency, incubator, incunabula, infancy, keep afloat, keep up, king-size bed, la patrie, lavish care on, lend support, lixiviator, lower berth, lull, mainstay, maintain, mollify, mother, mother country, motherland, my Angel-infancy, nascence, nascency, native land, native soil, nativity, nest, nestle, nidus, nourish, nurse, nursery, nurture, origin, origination, pacify, pallet, pamper, panel bed, parturition, patria, percolator, pillow, pipe berth, poster bed, pour balm into, pregnancy, prop, purifier, put to bed, quarter berth, queen-size bed, quell, quiet, refiner, refinery, reinforce, rest, riddle, rock, rock to sleep, rocker, roll-away bed, rookery, screen, shore, shore up, shoulder, sieve, sifter, single bed, smooth, smooth down, smooth over, smoothen, sofa-bed, soothe, spoon-feed, stabilize, stay, steady, still, strainer, subdue, subsidize, subvention, suckle, support, sustain, tester bed, the nursery, the old country, three-quarter bed, tranquilize, truckle bed, trundle bed, tuck in, underbrace, undergird, underlie, underpin, underset, upbear, uphold, upkeep, wet-nurse, winnow, winnowing basket, winnowing fan, winnowing machine, youth

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