Nursing: A Profession Named After Feeding
Nursing is the care of the sick, and also feeding a baby. The two meanings come from the same Latin verb for nourishing.
Nursing is the professional care of patients, and also the feeding of an infant. Both come from Latin *nutrire*, to nourish. The wet nurse fed the child; the hospital nurse fed and tended the patient; and the profession kept the name long after its duties expanded far beyond feeding.
- The profession of caring for patients. *A career in nursing.*
- Feeding a baby. *A nursing mother.*
- Nursing home — residential care with nursing staff. *A nursing home place.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | nursing | Nursing care. |
| Verb | nurse | She nursed him back to health. |
| Person | nurse | A staff nurse. |
| Compound | nursing home | A nursing home. |
| Related | midwifery | Nursing and midwifery. |
How it is used in a sentence
- She trained in nursing at Leeds.The profession.
- He nursed a grudge for years.Figurative: kept it alive and tended it.
- Nursing homes provide 24-hour clinical care.Unlike residential homes, which do not.
Nursing roles
- Registered nurse — qualified and on the professional register
- Nurse practitioner — with advanced training, often prescribing
- Healthcare assistant — supports nurses, not a registered role
- Charge nurse / sister — leads a ward shift
- District nurse — visits patients in their homes
From Old French *nourice*, a wet nurse, from Latin *nutricia*, from *nutrire*, to nourish. The professional sense grew in the nineteenth century as hospital nursing became a trained occupation.
Nursing home or care home?
A nursing home has registered nurses on duty. A residential care home provides personal care without that clinical cover.
Why does *nurse* also mean to feed a baby?
Because the word originally meant to nourish, and a nurse was someone who fed a child. The caring sense grew out of the feeding one.