to wet-nurse
1
8.3
- verb
- /ˈwɛtˌnɜrs/
- Archaic
:
amamantar
- She decided to wet-nurse her friend's newborn while she returned to work.
Examples
-
These were often poor women in difficult circumstances who were compelled to wet-nurse to broker their survival.
Academic text (2007) -
While you were wet-nursing Kennedy... ...your friend dropped in outside.
-
I wet-nursed you.
-
In the past, many women chose to wet-nurse other families' babies to earn a living.
-
Historically, mothers sometimes hired someone to wet-nurse their infants if they were unable to breastfeed.
Synonyms
85
2.5
To feed a baby or young animal with milk from its mother
54
2.3
To feed a baby with your milk
23
2.6
Give a baby milk directly from the mother's breast
19
5.5
To drink milk from a mother's breast or an animal's udder
1
9.8
To feed a baby or young animal from the breast
Surface Forms
Etymology
Wet-nurse as a verb means to feed and care for another person's baby with your milk. This use comes from the same parts wet and nurse, so to 'wet-nurse' someone is to be a 'wet' caregiver who 'nurses' another person's child.