nurse

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: Uncertain; earlier (16th century) nusse, nuse. Perhaps from huss, through metanalysis of "an huss" as "a nuss".

1. A nurse shark or dogfish.

verb

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”).

1. To breastfeed: to feed (a baby) at the breast; to suckle.

   “She believes that nursing her baby will make him strong and healthy.”

2. 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.”

5. To manage or oversee (something) with care and economy.
6. To drink (a beverage) slowly, so as to make it last.

   “Rob was nursing a small beer.”

7. 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”

8. To hold closely to one's chest.

   “Would you like to nurse the puppy?”

9. 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 place”