cradle /krāˈdl/

1. A small bed for a baby, usu suspended or on rockers
2. (with the) infancy
3. The place of origin or nurture of a particular person or thing
4. A stand, rest or holder for supporting something
5. A suspended platform or trolley which can be raised and lowered and from which work can be carried out on the side of a ship, building, etc
6. A framework, esp one for keeping bedclothes from pressing on a patient, or one under a ship for launching
7. A rocking-box for gold-washing
8. An engraver's knife used with a rocking motion
9. A wooden pronged attachment for a scythe, for combining the operations of cutting and gathering

Having been so since infancy, as in cradle Catholic

1. To lay or rock in a cradle
2. To hold and rock lovingly
3. To wash (soil containing gold) into a rocking-box
4. To nurture

(in lacrosse) to keep (the ball) in the net of one's stick while running, by means of a rocking action

crāˈdling noun (architecture)

A wooden or iron framework within a ceiling

cradle cap noun

A form of seborrhoeic dermatitis common in babies, in which patches of scaly skin form on the scalp

craˈdle-scythe noun

A broad scythe used in a cradle framework for cutting grain

craˈdle-snatcher noun (usu derogatory)

Someone who chooses as a lover or marriage partner someone much younger than himself or herself (also baby-snatcher)

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