cra·dle /ˈkredḷ/
 搖籃,發祥地,搖籃時代(vt.)放在搖籃內,撫育(vi.)刈割


 cra·dle /ˈkredḷ/ 名詞
 產生地,發源地,刈割,托架,支架


 Cra·dle n.
 1. A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots; hence, the place of origin, or in which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier period of existence; as, a cradle of crime; the cradle of liberty.
    The cradle that received thee at thy birth.   --Cowper.
 No sooner was I crept out of my cradle
 But I was made a king, at nine months old.   --Shak.
 2. Infancy, or very early life.
    From their cradles bred together.   --Shak.
    A form of worship in which they had been educated from their cradles.
 3. Agric. An implement consisting of a broad scythe for cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it evenly in a swath.
 4. Engraving A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the plate, so preparing the ground.
 5. A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.
 6. Med. (a) A case for a broken or dislocated limb. (b) A frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with the person.
 7. Mining (a) A machine on rockers, used in washing out auriferous earth; -- also called a rocker. [U.S.] (b) A suspended scaffold used in shafts.
 8. Carp. The ribbing for vaulted ceilings and arches intended to be covered with plaster.
 9. Naut. The basket or apparatus in which, when a line has been made fast to a wrecked ship from the shore, the people are brought off from the wreck.
 Cat's cradle. See under Cat.
 Cradle hole, a sunken place in a road, caused by thawing, or by travel over a soft spot.
 Cradle scythe, a broad scythe used in a cradle for cutting grain.


 Cra·dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cradled p. pr. & vb. n. Cradling ]
 1. To lay to rest, or rock, as in a cradle; to lull or quiet, as by rocking.
    It cradles their fears to sleep.   --D. A. Clark.
 2. To nurse or train in infancy.
    He that hath been cradled in majesty will not leave the throne to play with beggars.   --Glanvill.
 3. To cut and lay with a cradle, as grain.
 4. To transport a vessel by means of a cradle.
    In Lombardy . . . boats are cradled and transported over the grade.   --Knight.
 To cradle a picture, to put ribs across the back of a picture, to prevent the panels from warping.


 Cra·dle, v. i. To lie or lodge, as in a cradle.
    Withered roots and husks wherein the acorn cradled.   --Shak.

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 cradle
      n 1: a baby bed with sides and rockers
      2: where something originated or was nurtured in its early
         existence; "the birthplace of civilization" [syn: birthplace,
          place of origin, provenance]
      3: birth of a person; "he was taught from the cradle never to
         cry"
      4: a trough on rockers used by gold miners to shake earth in
         water in order to separate the gold [syn: rocker]
      v 1: hold gently and carefully; "He cradles the child in his
           arms"
      2: bring up from infancy
      3: hold or place in or as if in a cradle; "He cradled the
         infant in his arms"
      4: cut grain with a cradle scythe
      5: wash in a cradle; "cradle gold"
      6: run with the stick