Nursed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Gave medical care or attention to someone who is ill or injured ; fed a baby milk from the breast ; looked after or cared for someone or something with attention
2. Provided professional or personal health support to a patient ; nourished an infant by breastfeeding ; tended to and nurtured with care and concern
3. Attended to a sick or injured person with treatment or aid ; supplied milk from the breast to an infant ; offered continuous care or support to maintain well-being

Etymology: The verb "nursed" is simply the past tense of "nurse," so its story is really the story of the noun behind it. That noun passed from Latin into English by way of French, and its original sense was specific and physical: a woman who suckled a child. Latin "nūtrīx" meant "wet nurse," from "nūtriō," "to suckle," and the Late Latin "nūtrīcia" carried the idea into the Romance languages, giving Old French "norrice." English took that as "norice" in Middle English, and the modern spelling eventually settled in. The original meaning was almost entirely about breastfeeding, which is why the verb still carries that sense today: to nurse a baby is to feed it at the breast. The wider meanings, caring for the sick and tending anything with attention, grew out of that core idea of nourishing and looking after someone who cannot yet look after themselves.

Synonyms: cared for, tended, looked after, attended to

Antonyms: neglected, abandoned, ignored, overlooked