dry nurse

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Word: Dry Nurse

Definition: A dry nurse is a person, often a woman, who takes care of a baby or infant but does not feed the baby with her own breast milk. Instead, she might feed the baby with a bottle or other methods.

Usage Instructions:

• Part of Speech: Noun
• Use it when talking about someone who looks after a baby but does not breastfeed.

Example:

• "After the mother returned to work, they hired a dry nurse to take care of the baby during the day."

Advanced Usage:

In historical contexts, especially in literature, you may come across the term being used in a more metaphorical sense to refer to someone who provides care or support without being a biological parent.

Word Variants:

• There are no direct variants of "dry nurse," but you might see related terms like wet nurse (who does breastfeed) or nanny (a caregiver for children).

Different Meanings:

• In some contexts, "dry nurse" could be used metaphorically to describe someone who offers support or care but does not have a direct connection or responsibility, similar to how a dry nurse cares for a child but does not provide the most intimate form of care (breastfeeding).

Synonyms:

• Caregiver
• Childcare provider
• Nanny (though a nanny may perform a broader range of duties)

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• There are no common idioms or phrasal verbs specifically related to "dry nurse." However, you might encounter phrases like "to nurse someone back to health," which means to take care of someone until they recover.

Summary:

A dry nurse is someone who cares for infants without breastfeeding them. The term emphasizes the caregiving role without the biological connection associated with breastfeeding.

Academic

Noun

1. a nurse who cares for but does not suckle an infant