ENGLISH
REFERENCE

nursery

n. countable
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈnɝsɝi// UK //nˈɜːsəɹi// nurs·ery Archaic

n. a place where young children are cared for while their parents are at work. It can also mean a place where plants are grown and sold.

n. a facility providing daycare for infants and young children; alternatively, a commercial establishment where plants are propagated and grown to usable size.


SIMPLE

I drop my daughter off at the nursery every morning.

CONTEXTUAL

The local nursery is having a sale on fruit trees and rose bushes this weekend.

COMPLEX

While the primary school is located in the village center, the nursery is situated on the outskirts to provide a quieter environment for the toddlers.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English noricerie, norserye (“children's nursery; state of being fostered or nursed; education, upbringing”) [and other forms], from Old French norricerie, nourricerie, from norrice, nourrice (modern French nourrice (“childminder, nanny; wet nurse”)) + -erie (suffix forming feminine nouns). Norrice and nourrice are derived from Late Latin nūtrīcia (“wet nurse”), from Latin nūtrīcius (“that nurses or suckles; nourishing”), from nūtriō (“to breastfeed, nurse, suckle”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂- (“to flow”). The English word may be analysed as nourice, nurse + -ery (suffix forming nouns meaning ‘place of’).

Usage

Often used as a noun adjunct in phrases like 'nursery school' or 'nursery rhyme'.

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