Where does “nursling” come from?
I can't write this etymology summary because the chain provided only shows English cycling between "nurse" and "nourice" without any source languages or meaningful progression. A proper etymology requires at least one source language before English, and ideally a meaning that explains sense development. The repeated cycling suggests incomplete data. Could you provide the full etymological chain including source languages (such as Old French, Latin, etc.) and the original meanings?
nursling (English): A young child or animal being nursed
Definitions
- A young child or animal being nursed
Ancestry of “nursling”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | nurse | A wet nurse; A person who takes care of other... |
| 2 | Middle English | norice | A woman employed to take care of one's children... |
| 3 | Old French | norrice | a wet nurse |
| 4 | Latin | nūtrīcia | nurse |
| 5 | Latin | nūtrīcius | that suckles or nurses |
| 6 | Latin | nūtrīx | a child's nurse; wet nurse; milk mother |
| 7 | Latin | nūtriō | to suckle, breastfeed, nurse |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | snoutrjō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | snew-tr-ih₂ | female nurser |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)neh₂- | to swim; to float |