nursery

 
Pronunciation: /ˈnəːs(ə)ri/

noun (plural nurseries)

  • 1a room in a house for the special use of young children: a toy-strewn nursery [as modifier]: toys and nursery furniture
  • (also day nursery) a place where young children are cared for during the working day; a nursery school: [as modifier]: nursery education
  • an institution or environment in which certain types of people or qualities are fostered or bred: that nursery of traitors
  • a place or natural habitat which breeds or supports animals: this estuary provides a vast nursery for fish
  • [as modifier] denoting a race for two-year-old horses: a six-furlong nursery handicap
  • 2a place where young plants and trees are grown for sale or for planting elsewhere: the plants are available from specialist nurseries [with modifier]: tree nursery

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French nourice 'nurse' (see nurse1) + -ery