nourish

noun

1. (obsolete)A nurse.

verb

1. (transitive)To feed and cause to grow; to supply with food or other matter which increases weight and promotes health.

   “He planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.”

   “other carnivorous Animals are difficultly nourished by Plants alone”

   “Children nourished exclusively upon this simple food will be found to enjoy more perfect health”

   “we have ample evidence that male Bobolinks do not shirk the labor of nourishing their families. In a four-year study, Wittenberger (1980, 1982) found that males delivered about 60 Bobolink percent of the food.”

2. (transitive)To support; to maintain; to be responsible for.

   “I in Ireland nourish a mighty band.”

3. (transitive)To encourage; to foster; to stimulate

   “to nourish civility”

   “to nourish a sense of self-worth”

   “When we slow down to pay attention to our own experience, we open ourselves to the love and richness that is here all the time. These are moments that can nourish your connection to your heart.”

   “I thanked the Fort Leavenworth military historian, Colonel von Schlemmer, for nourishing my first hope to memorialize the Buffalo Soldiers”

4. (transitive)To cherish; to comfort.

   “Ye have nourished your hearts.”

5. (transitive)To educate or bring up; to nurture; to promote emotional, spiritual or other non-physical growth.

   “Nourished up in the words of faith.”

6. (intransitive)To promote growth; to furnish nutriment.

   “This type of nourishes very well.”

7. (intransitive, obsolete)To gain nourishment.

   “a kingdom may have good limbs, but will have empty veins, and nourish little”