nursed

Nursed is the past tense and past participle of the verb nurse. The primary meaning is to provide care and nourishment to someone who is sick, injured, or very young. It also encompasses tending to medical needs, administering treatment, and offering comfort to support recovery. In hospital, clinic, or home settings, a patient or infant may be nursed by a caregiver, family member, or professional nurse, with an emphasis on ongoing attention and sustenance.

In addition to direct caregiving, nursed is used in several figurative and everyday expressions. To nurse a grievance or memory means to harbor or cultivate it over time. To nurse a drink means to sip it slowly and keep it at a desired temperature or level of enjoyment. The passive form—The patient was nursed back to health—is common in medical narratives and biographies.

Etymology traces the verb back to the same root as nourish, originating from Latin nutrire, via Old French nourrir. The noun form nurse refers to a person who provides care, including professional nurses and informal caregivers such as family members. The term has long-standing usage in medicine and family life and remains central to discussions of caregiving, healthcare, and the social responsibilities surrounding infancy and illness.