hatchery

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English hatch Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Old French -ier Latin -ia Old French -ie Old French -eriebor. Middle English -erie English -ery English hatchery From hatch (verb) + -ery (suffix denoting a place where an art, craft, or practice is carried out).

1. A (commercial) facility where eggs, especially those of fish or poultry, are hatched under artificial conditions.

   “[A]s the interior of the hatchery was necessarily gloomy and dingy, otherwise it could not have answered its objects, a hole was pierced through the wall, large enough to place an egg in; and through this orifice it was examined [to see if the chicken egg was fertilized], with the aid of the sun-blaze outside.”

   “The codfish hatchery at Wood's Hole, Massachusetts, has been highly successful.”

2. A place where something is fostered or nurtured; a nursery.

   “[T]he TVA [Tennessee Valley Authority] is itself a hatchery of public enterprise, as in the disposal of electric power it is required by statute to give preference to States, counties, municipalities, and non-profit co-operative associations.”