Definition

1. Noun:

   • A small bed for a baby, often on rockers: A piece of furniture designed to hold and gently rock an infant to sleep.
   • The place of origin or early development: The location or context where something begins or is nurtured in its initial stages.
   • A supporting framework or structure: A device or framework that holds or supports something, often in a protective or gentle manner.

2. Verb:

   • To hold gently and protectively: To hold something or someone, especially a baby, in a careful and tender way.
   • To place or hold in or as if in a cradle: To support something as if it were resting in a cradle.
   • To wash (e.g., auriferous earth) in a miner's cradle: To separate gold from earth by rocking it in a trough with water.

Examples

• Noun:

  • The baby slept peacefully in the wooden cradle.
  • Ancient Greece is often called the cradle of Western civilization.
  • He carefully placed the telephone receiver back on its cradle.

• Verb:

  • She cradled the injured bird in her hands.
  • He cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear while typing.
  • The old miner taught him how to cradle for gold.

Advanced Usage

• "From the cradle to the grave": Referring to the entire duration of a person's life, from birth to death.

  • The welfare state aims to provide support from the cradle to the grave.

• "The cradle of civilization": A phrase used to describe a region where civilization is understood to have emerged.

  • Mesopotamia is known as the cradle of civilization.

• "To rob the cradle" (idiom, informal): To have a romantic relationship with someone who is much younger.

  • People gossiped that the famous actor was robbing the cradle when he married his young co-star.

Variants and Related Words

• Cradle-snatcher (n, informal, often derogatory): A person who has a romantic relationship with someone much younger.
• Cradle cap (n): A common, harmless skin condition causing scaly patches on a baby's scalp.
• Cat's cradle (n): A children's game played by making string figures between the fingers.

Synonyms

• Noun (for bed): Bassinet, cot.
• Noun (for origin): Birthplace, source, fountainhead, wellspring.
• Verb (to hold): Nestle, hold, support, cushion.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Cradle" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its verb form is typically used transitively.)

Related Idioms

• "Stolen from the cradle": Used to describe someone who seems to have had a particular talent or quality from a very early age.

  • She plays the piano so beautifully; it's as if her talent was stolen from the cradle.

• "To hand someone something on a cradle" (less common): To give someone something very easily, requiring no effort on their part. (A variant of "on a plate" or "on a silver platter").

Noun

1. 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
2. birth of a person
   • he was taught from the cradle never to cry
3. where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence
   • the birthplace of civilization
4. a baby bed with sides and rockers

Verb

1. run with the stick
2. wash in a cradle
   • cradle gold
3. cut grain with a cradle scythe
4. hold or place in or as if in a cradle
   • He cradled the infant in his arms
5. bring up from infancy
6. hold gently and carefully
   • He cradles the child in his arms