nursing

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
nurse1

▶noun

• 1 a person trained to care for the sick or infirm.

  ■ dated a person employed or trained to take charge of young children.

• 2 Entomology a worker bee or other social insect that cares for a young brood.

• 3 Forestry a tree or crop planted as a shelter to others.

▶verb

• 1 give medical and other attention to.

  ■ work as a nurse.

• 2 feed or be fed at the breast.

• 3 treat or hold carefully or protectively.

  ■ hold (a drink), sipping it occasionally.

• 4 harbour (a belief or feeling) for a long time.

• 5 Billiards & Snooker try to play strokes which keep (the balls) close together.

– derivatives
nursing noun.

– origin ME: contr. of earlier nourice, from OFr., from late L. nutricia, fem. of L. nutricius ‘(person) that nourishes’, from nutrix, nutric- ‘nurse’, from nutrire ‘nourish’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
nurse2 (also grey nurse)

▶noun a greyish Australian shark of shallow inshore waters. [Odontaspis arenarius.]

– origin C15: orig. as nusse, perh. derived (by wrong division) from an huss (see huss).