nurture

English

An Eastern Grey Kangaroo nurtures her joey.

Alternative forms

• nouriture (obsolete)
• nutriture (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English norture, noriture, from Old French norriture, norreture, from Late Latin nutritura (“nourishment”), from Latin nutrire (“to nourish”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɜːɹ.t͡ʃəɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tʃə(ɹ)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Noun

nurture (countable and uncountable, plural nurtures)

1. The act of nourishing or nursing; tender care

   Synonyms: upbringing, raising, education, training

2. That which nourishes; food; diet.
   • 1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC, page 110:

     Other great houses there bee of the English in Ireland, which thorough licentious conversing with the Irish, or marrying, or fostering with them, or lacke of meete nurture, or other such unhappy occasions, have degendred from their auncient dignities, and are now growne as Irish, as O-hanlans breech, as the proverbe there is.

3. The environmental influences that contribute to a person’s development (as opposed to "nature").
   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 15:

     A Deuill, a borne-Deuill, on whoſe nature / Nurture can neuer ſticke :

   • 1649, J[ohn] Milton, “Upon His Retirement from Westminster”, in ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 59:

     […] a man neither by nature nor by nurture wiſe.

Derived terms

• nature vs nurture

Translations

act of nourishing or nursing; tender care; education; training

• Bulgarian: отгле́ждане (bg) n (otgléždane)
• Czech: výchova (cs) f
• Finnish: hoito (fi), kasvatus (fi)
• French: élever (fr), éduquer (fr)
• Galician: coidado (gl) m
• German: Umsorgen n, Umhegen n, Päppeln n
• Greek: γαλούχηση (el) f (galoúchisi), ανατροφή (el) f (anatrofí)

  Ancient: τροφή f (trophḗ)

• Irish: oiliúint f
• Italian: cura (it), educazione (it), addestramento (it)
• Japanese: 育成 (ja) (ikusei)
• Romanian: educare (ro) f, creștere (ro) f, cultivare (ro)
• Serbo-Croatian: briga (sh) f
• Spanish: cuidado (es), crianza (es), ternura (es), levantamiento (es), desarollamiento
• Welsh: magu (cy)

that which nourishes; food; diet

• Arabic: تنشئَة (ar), تَرْبِيَة (ar) (tarbiya), (tarbyah)
• Bulgarian: храна (bg) f (hrana), хранене (bg) n (hranene)
• Czech: výživa (cs) f
• Finnish: ravinto (fi)
• Galician: alimento (gl) m
• Greek: τροφή (el) f (trofí), διατροφή (el) f (diatrofí)
• Italian: alimento (it)
• Spanish: alimento (es)

environmental influences that contribute to the development of an individual

• German: Erziehung (de) f, Pflege (de) f, Umwelteinflüsse (de) f
• Italian: cultura (it)
• Portuguese: criação (pt) f (commonly used when talking about childrearing)

Verb

nurture (third-person singular simple present nurtures, present participle nurturing, simple past and past participle nurtured)

1. To nourish or nurse.
   • 1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 70.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 344:

     Look where he would, some heap of ruins afforded him rich promise of a working off; the whole town appeared to have been ploughed, and sown, and nurtured by most genial weather; and a goodly harvest was at hand.

2. (figuratively, by extension) To encourage, especially the growth or development of something.
   • 2009, UNESCO, The United Nations World Water Development Report – N° 3 - 2009 – Freshwater and International Law (the Interplay between Universal, Regional and Basin Perspectives), page 10, →ISBN

     The relationships between universal norms and specific norms nurture the development of international law.

Synonyms

• (figuratively, to encourage): See Thesaurus:nurture

Related terms

• nourish
• nourishment
• nurse
• nursery
• nurturance
• nutrient
• nutriment
• nutrition
• nutritional
• nutritious
• nutritive

Translations

to nourish or nurse

• Bulgarian: храня (bg) (hranja), отхранвам (bg) (othranvam)
• Finnish: hoitaa (fi), kasvattaa (fi)
• French: nourrir (fr)
• Galician: criar (gl)
• German: umsorgen (de), hegen und pflegen (de)
• Greek: τρέφω (el) (tréfo), διατρέφω (el) (diatréfo)
• Italian: nutrire (it), curare (it)
• Japanese: 育成する (ikusei-suru)
• Mandarin: 养育 (zh) (yǎngyù)
• Maori: taute, whāngai, ahu, poipoi
• Spanish: criar (es), nutrir (es)

figuratively, to encourage

• French: favoriser (fr), alimenter (fr)
• German: fördern (de), voranbringen (de)
• Italian: incoraggiare (it), favorire (it), alimentare (it)

Further reading

• “nurture”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “nurture”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• U-turner, untruer

Middle English

Noun

nurture

1. Alternative form of norture