cradlings

Noun

cradling (plural cradlings)

1. The act by which one cradles a child etc.
   • About four thousand cradlings were observed among five mother-infant pairs during the first 15 weeks of each infant's life.1967, Stuart A. Altmann, Social communication among primates
2. The act of using a cradle (the tool).
3. The cutting of a cask into two pieces lengthwise, to enable it to pass a narrow place, the two parts being afterwards united and rehooped.
4. The framework in arched or coved ceilings to which the laths are nailed.
   • the ceiling of the circular part is deeply panelled, the main ribs forming the core for the cradling1853, Thomas Tredgold, Elementary Principles of Carpentry