cradles

Noun

cradle (plural cradles)

1. A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots.
   • No sooner was I crept out of my cradle / But I was made a king, at nine months old.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
2. (figuratively) The place of origin, or in which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier period of existence.
   • a cradle of crime
3. (figuratively) Infancy, or very early life.
   • from the cradle to the grave
4. An implement consisting of a broad scythe for cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it evenly in a swath.
5. A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the plate, so as to prepare the ground.
6. A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.

See all 24 meanings of cradle