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In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people. Preface to 1828 Dictionary
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CRADLE, n. [Gr., to swing.]
CRADLE, v.t.
CRADLE, v.i. To lie or lodge in a cradle.
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. No sooner was I crept out of my cradle Infancy, or very early life.
From their cradles bred together. A form of worship in which they had been educated
from their cradles. 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.
A tool used in
mezzotint engraving, which, by a rocking motion, raises burrs on
the surface of the plate, so preparing the ground.
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.
A
case for a broken or dislocated limb.
A
machine on rockers, used in washing out auriferous earth; -- also
called a rocker.
[U.S.] The ribbing for vaulted
ceilings and arches intended to be covered with plaster.
Knight. 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. To lay to rest, or rock, as in a cradle] to lull or quiet,
as by rocking.
It cradles their fears to sleep. To nurse or train in
infancy.
He that hath been cradled in majesty will
not leave the throne to play with beggars. To cut and lay with a cradle, as
grain.
To transport a vessel by means of a
cradle.
In Lombardy . . . boats are cradled and
transported over the grade. To cradle a picture, to put ribs across the back of a picture, to prevent the panels from warping. To lie or
lodge, as in a cradle.
Withered roots and husks wherein the acorn
cradled. | ||||||||