nestedadj.
/ˈnɛstᵻd/, U.S. /ˈnɛstəd/ 1. Relating to, settled in, or provided with, a nest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > nest or bird defined by > [adjective] > making or having a nest
timbering1610
nested1729
nesting1797
the world > animals > by habitat > habitat > [adjective] > of or relating to nests > used as
nested1729
1729 R. Savage Wanderer iv. 67 The chatt'ring swallows leave their nested care.
1815 W. Wordsworth White Doe of Rylstone vii. 121 They like a nested Pair reposed!
1876 J. E. Hopkins Rose Turquand I. xix. 277 The tender tweet! tweet! of the nested birds in the ivy.
1946 D. Thomas Deaths & Entrances 22 A she bird sleeping..Within the nested treefork.
1992 E. B. Voigt Two Trees 39 Night bird, nested bird, who drew the whistling bird so far from the sea?
2.
a. Of objects: manufactured or arranged so that one fits into another.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > containing or having within > [adjective] > one inside the other
nested1870
nesting1934
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > [adjective] > together in (a) group(s) > nested or packed one inside the other
nested1870
1870 Eng. Mech. 4 Mar. 596/3 [Crucibles] are sold one in the other, and are then called ‘nested’.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 63/1 Glazed boxes round and square..are supplied ‘nested’, consequently of various depths.
1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 699/1 Nested Willow Chip Boxes. Per gross... 1/5.
1921 Glasgow Herald 1 June 7 Two or three ‘nested’ dishes, the biggest one large enough to take two plates side by side.
1969 ‘S. Troy’ Swift to its Close vi. 81 A little man carrying three nested chairs brushed past.
1972 Sci. Amer. Apr. 32/1 The magnetic field in the compressor is supplied by a nested set of copper coils.
1993 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. 25 Jan. b3/6 At Rosalila, at Copan, researchers found that, unlike most nested buildings, the innermost structure had not been demolished but was sealed within two larger temples.
b. Of abstract elements or entities: falling within the scope of other abstract elements, esp. in a hierarchical structure; arranged in a hierarchical conceptual structure. Relating to or involving such a structure of abstract elements, operations, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [adjective] > relating to grouping
ranked1657
percentile1886
nested1941
society > computing and information technology > [adjective] > hierarchical structures
nested1967
1941 M. Ganguli in Sankhyā 5 449 The procedure that had been followed in selecting samples has been termed nested sampling by Professor P. C. Mahalanobis. This consists in dividing up the entire area under survey into a large number of zones, say Z1. Each of these Z1-zones are sub-divided into a large number of smaller zones [etc.].
1959 E. L. Lehmann Testing Statistical Hypotheses vii. 290 (heading) Nested classifications.
1967 M. Klerer & G. A. Korn Digital Computer User's Handbk. i. iii. 75 The expression AX3 + BX2 + CX + D may be written in nested form as ((B + Ax)x + C)x + D which requires less arithmetic.
1973 Computers & Humanities 7 226 Procedures for handling nested loops and subscripted variables.
1989 PC Resource Sept. 94/1 Not only does the program have visually appealing, explanatory nested menus, but it also has an on-line help system that is excellent.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1729