crèche

crèche

See also: creche and créché

English

A crèche (4) of Canada geese

Alternative forms

• creche

Etymology

Borrowed from French crèche (“manger”), from Frankish *krippija, *kribbija, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ. Doublet of crib.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɹɛʃ/, /kɹeɪʃ/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʃ, -eɪʃ

Noun

crèche (plural crèches)

1. A representation of the nativity scene.
   • 2007, Clyde A. Bonar, Amen, I Say to You (page 666)

     At last, all was complete. The creche at Greccio looked like a new Bethlehem. The baby Jesus would be placed in the manger at midnight Mass.

2. (UK, Ireland) A day nursery.

   They drop their two-year-old off at the crèche in the morning before they go to work.

   • 2012, Roni Jay, The The 10 Most Important Things You Can Do For Your Children

     If you leave the kids in the creche for one morning on your week's holiday, and they are OK with that, then it's fine.

3. (historical) A hospital for orphaned infants; a foundling hospital.
   • 1894, Amos Griswold Warner, American Charities: A Study in Philanthropy and Economics (page 272)

     One road leads to desertion of the child in a convenient hallway; another to the creche of a foundling hospital; a third, to a boarding home, good or indifferent, for the child.

   • 1973, Wayne Dennis, Children of the Crèche (page 74)

     In line with this policy, a couple could adopt a Crèche foundling only if one or both of them were Roman Catholics.

4. (collective, marine biology) A group of young who stay together for protection.

Translations

nativity scene — see nativity scene

Further reading

• crèche on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “crèche”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “crèche, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• crèche at OneLook Dictionary Search
• “crèche”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
• “crèche” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2023.

Anagrams

• Creech

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French crèche, from Middle French [Term?], from Old French creche, cresche (“manger, feeding trough”), from Late Latin cripia (“feeding trough”), from Frankish *krippija, *kribbija (“crib”), from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (“crib”), from Proto-Indo-European *g(')rībh- (“basket, net”). Doublet of kribbe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /krɛʃ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: crè‧che
• Homophone: crash

Noun

crèche f (plural crèches)

1. crèche (day nursery)

   Synonyms: kindercrèche, kinderkribbe, kinderdagverblijf, kribbe

Hypernyms

• kinderopvang

Descendants

• → Papiamentu: krèsh

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French

Etymology

From Middle French [Term?], from Old French creche, cresche (“manger, feeding trough”), from Late Latin cripia (“feeding trough”), from Frankish *krippija, *kribbija (“crib”), from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (“crib”), from Proto-Indo-European *g(')rībh- (“basket, net”).

Cognate with Old High German krippa, kripja (“crib”) (German Krippe), Old English cribb, crybb (“crib”), Dutch kribbe (“crib”), Danish krybbe, Swedish krubba, Irish grib. More at crib

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʁɛʃ/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Homophones: crèchent, crèches

Noun

crèche f (plural crèches)

1. crèche (the Nativity scene)
2. crèche (day nursery)

Verb

crèche

1. inflection of crécher:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “crèche”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.