Cradling

cra·dle  (krdl)

n.

1. A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers.

2.

a. The earliest period of life: had an interest in music almost from the cradle.

b. A place of origin; a birthplace: the cradle of civilization.

3.

a. A framework of wood or metal used to support something, such as a ship undergoing construction or repair.

b. A framework used to protect an injured limb.

4. A low flat framework that rolls on casters, used by a mechanic working beneath an automobile. Also called creeper.

5. The part of a telephone that contains the connecting switch upon which the receiver and mouthpiece unit is supported.

6.

a. A frame projecting above a scythe, used to catch grain as it is cut so that it can be laid flat.

b. A scythe equipped with such a frame.

7. A boxlike device furnished with rockers, used for washing gold-bearing dirt.

v. cra·dled, cra·dling, cra·dles

v.tr.

1.

a. To place or retain in or as if in a cradle.

b. To care for or nurture in infancy.

c. To hold or support protectively: cradled the cat in his arms.

2. To reap (grain) with a cradle.

3. To place or support (a ship, for example) in a cradle.

4. To wash (gold-bearing dirt) in a cradle.

v.intr. Obsolete

To lie in or as if in a cradle.

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[Middle English cradel, from Old English.]

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cradler n.