creche
creche Lexical Profile
creche Game Scores & Validity
• noun
British A nursery where babies and young children are cared for during the working day.
"The community center offers a supervised creche so parents can attend morning fitness classes."
American A model or tableau representing the scene of Jesus Christ's birth, displayed in homes or public places at Christmas.
"Every December, the family sets up a hand-carved wooden creche on the mantelpiece."
A communal group of juvenile animals, such as penguin chicks or seal pups, cared for together by one or more adults inside a colony.
"Emperor penguin chicks huddle together in a large creche for warmth and protection while their parents forage at sea."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British, Irish, and Australian English, 'creche' commonly refers to a day nursery for infants and toddlers, whereas in American English it almost exclusively refers to a Christmas Nativity scene.
• Rhymes for creche
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 18th century from French 'crèche' ('manger, crib'), from Old French 'creche', ultimately of Frankish origin and related to the English word 'crib'.