different between nurse vs comfort
nurse
English
Alternative forms
- nourice (archaic)
- norice (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English norice, from Old French norrice, from Latin n?tr?cius (“that nourishes”), from n?tr?x (“wet nurse”), from n?tri? (“to suckle”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /n??s/
- (General American) IPA(key): /n?s/
- Rhymes: -??(?)s
Noun
nurse (plural nurses)
- (archaic) A wet nurse.
- A person (usually a woman) who takes care of other people’s young.
- A person trained to provide care for the sick.
- 1990, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, House of Cards, Season 1, Episode 4
- Francis Urquhart: Right. Mackenzie. Health. No chance of getting him into a demo at a hospital, I suppose?
Tim Stamper: Doesn't go to hospitals any more. Kept getting beaten up by the nurses... I think he has trouble getting insured now.
- Francis Urquhart: Right. Mackenzie. Health. No chance of getting him into a demo at a hospital, I suppose?
- 1990, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, House of Cards, Season 1, Episode 4
- (figuratively) One who, or that which, brings up, rears, causes to grow, trains, or fosters.
- 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
- the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise
- 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
- (horticulture) A shrub or tree that protects a young plant.
- (nautical) A lieutenant or first officer who takes command when the captain is unfit for his place.
- A larva of certain trematodes, which produces cercariae by asexual reproduction.
- A nurse shark.
Usage notes
- Some speakers consider nurses (medical workers) to be female by default, and thus use "male nurse" to refer to a man doing the same job.
Derived terms
- nurse practitioner
- snotty's nurse
- wet nurse, wet-nurse
Descendants
Translations
Verb
nurse (third-person singular simple present nurses, present participle nursing, simple past and past participle nursed)
- (transitive) To breastfeed: to feed (a baby) at the breast; to suckle.
- She believes that nursing her baby will make him strong and healthy.
- (intransitive) To breastfeed: to be fed at the breast.
- (transitive) To care for (someone), especially in sickness; to tend to.
- She nursed him back to health.
- to treat kindly and with extra care
- She nursed the rosebush and that season it bloomed.
- to manage with care and economy
- Synonym: husband
- to drink slowly, to make it last
- Rob was nursing a small beer.
- to foster, to nourish
- to hold closely to one's chest
- Would you like to nurse the puppy?
- (billiards) To strike (billiard balls) gently, so as to keep them in good position during a series of shots.
- 1866, United States. Congress. Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Supplemental report of the Joint Committee
- 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
- 1866, United States. Congress. Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Supplemental report of the Joint Committee
Usage notes
In sense “to drink slowly”, generally negative and particularly used for someone at a bar, suggesting they either cannot afford to buy another drink or are too miserly to do so. By contrast, sip is more neutral.
Synonyms
- (drink slowly): sip, see also Thesaurus:drink
Translations
See also
- matron
- sister
Further reading
- nurse in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- nurse in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- nurse at OneLook Dictionary Search
- Nurse in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Anagrams
- Nuers, Suren, Unser, runes, urnes
Middle English
Noun
nurse
- Alternative form of norice
nurse From the web:
- what nurses make the most money
- what nurses work with babies
- what nurses do
- what nursery rhymes really mean
- what nurse practitioner do
- what nurse should i be
- what nurse delivers babies
- what nurse can write prescriptions
comfort
English
Etymology
The verb is from Middle English conforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confort? (“to strengthen greatly”), itself from Latin con- (“together”) + fortis (“strong”).
The noun is from Middle English confort, from Old French cunfort, confort, from the stem of Late Latin confort?. It replaced Old English frofor, Middle English frovre.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?k?m.f?t/
- (Northern England) IPA(key): /?k?m.f?t/
- (General American) enPR: k?m'f?rt, IPA(key): /?k?m.f?t/, [?k???.f?t]
- (obsolete) enPR: k?mfôrt', IPA(key): /k?m?f??t/
Noun
comfort (countable and uncountable, plural comforts)
- Contentment, ease.
- Something that offers comfort.
- A consolation; something relieving suffering or worry.
- A cause of relief or satisfaction.
Synonyms
- liss
Antonyms
- (contentment, ease): austerity
Translations
Verb
comfort (third-person singular simple present comforts, present participle comforting, simple past and past participle comforted)
- (transitive) To relieve the distress or suffering of; to provide comfort to.
- (transitive) To make comfortable. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- (obsolete) To make strong; to invigorate; to fortify; to corroborate.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- God's own testimony […] doth not a little comfort and confirm the same.
- (obsolete) To assist or help; to aid.
Synonyms
- besoothe
Translations
Derived terms
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch confoort, from Old French confort.
Pronunciation
- (Netherlands) IPA(key): /k?m?f??r/
- (Belgium) IPA(key): /k?m?f?r(t)/
- Hyphenation: com?fort
Noun
comfort n (plural comforts, diminutive comfortje n)
- Physical comfort, ease.
Derived terms
- comfortabel
- ligcomfort
- rijcomfort
- zitcomfort
comfort From the web:
- what comfort does the friar offer
- what comforter should i buy
- what comfort means
- what comforters are used in hotels
- what comforter does hilton use
- what comfort care means
- what comforts you
- what comfort food am i
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