nurse
Definitions
A person trained to care for sick or injured people, usually in a hospital
护士
A person, especially formerly a woman, employed to care for or breastfeed a young child
保姆；（旧时）奶妈
To care for and look after someone who is ill
护理，照料（病人）
To feed a baby with milk from the breast; to be fed in this way
给（婴儿）喂奶；吃奶
To hold or nurture something carefully (a feeling, a plan, an injury)
小心呵护，怀着（情感、想法）；将养（伤病）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Old French norrice, 'a wet-nurse,' literally 'a woman who nourishes,' from Latin nūtrīre (to feed). The first nurse was a feeder — someone hired to breastfeed and raise a child. From 'one who feeds and tends a baby' the meaning broadened to 'one who cares for the sick.' The verb keeps both senses: to nurse a baby (feed it) and to nurse a patient (care for them).
Root nour still carries 21 more wordsWhy It Means This
It surprises most learners that nurse and nutrition share a root. The link is feeding: a nurse was originally a wet-nurse, literally 'the one who feeds the baby.' English then walked the word from the cradle to the sickbed — from feeding the helpless infant to tending the helpless patient. That's why 'nurse' splits into two living meanings today: the hospital nurse (carer) and the verb 'to nurse a baby' (to breastfeed). Both are the same act of feeding-and-tending the vulnerable.
Common Collocations
- 1.registered nurse注册护士
- 2.nurse a patient护理病人
- 3.nurse a baby给婴儿喂奶
- 4.head nurse护士长
- 5.nurse back to health调养康复
Example Sentences
- 1.
The nurse checked his temperature and changed the bandage.
- 2.
She gave up work to nurse her elderly mother at home.
- 3.
The mother sat quietly nursing her newborn baby.
- 4.
He nursed a grudge against his old boss for years.
Easily Confused
nurse vs nurture — Both come from the same feeding root, but nurse is concrete and immediate: care for a sick person, or breastfeed a baby. nurture is long-term development: to nurture a child, a talent, or a relationship over years. You nurse someone through an illness; you nurture them into who they become.