[syn: nourish, nurture, sustain]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Nurture \Nur"ture\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nurtured; p. pr. & vb.
n. Nurturing.]
1. To feed; to nourish.
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2. To educate; to bring or train up.
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He was nurtured where he had been born. --Sir H.
Wotton.
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Syn: To nourish; nurse; cherish; bring up; educate; tend.
Usage: To Nurture, Nourish, Cherish. Nourish denotes to
supply with food, or cause to grow; as, to nourish a
plant, to nourish rebellion. To nurture is to train up
with a fostering care, like that of a mother; as, to
nurture into strength; to nurture in sound principles.
To cherish is to hold and treat as dear; as, to
cherish hopes or affections.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Nurture \Nur"ture\, n. [OE. norture, noriture, OF. norriture,
norreture, F. nourriture, fr. L. nutritura a nursing,
suckling. See Nourish.]
1. The act of nourishing or nursing; tender care; education;
training.
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A man neither by nature nor by nurture wise.
--Milton.
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2. That which nourishes; food; diet. --Spenser.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
nurture
n 1: the properties acquired as a consequence of the way you
were treated as a child [syn: raising, rearing,
nurture]
2: helping someone grow up to be an accepted member of the
community; "they debated whether nature or nurture was more
important" [syn: breeding, bringing up, fostering,
fosterage, nurture, raising, rearing, upbringing]
v 1: help develop, help grow; "nurture his talents" [syn:
foster, nurture]
2: bring up; "raise a family"; "bring up children" [syn: rear,
raise, bring up, nurture, parent]
3: provide with nourishment; "We sustained ourselves on bread
and water"; "This kind of food is not nourishing for young
children" [syn: nourish, nurture, sustain]