nestlev.1
/ˈnɛsl/, U.S. /ˈnɛs(ə)l/ 1. † a. intransitive. Of a bird: to make or have a nest, esp. in a place; = nest v. 1. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > nest or bird defined by > [verb (intransitive)] > build nest
timberc897
nestleOE
OE Lambeth Psalter ciii. 16 Illic passeres nidificabunt : ðær spearwan nestliaþ.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 21753 A chlud swiþe strong, þar nestleþ [a1275 Calig. naestieð] hearnes.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) ciii. 18 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 236 (MED) Be fullefilled sal trees ofe felde ilkan..Þare sal sparwes be nestland.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 354 Nestlyn, Nidifico.
1545 G. Joye Expos. Daniel (iv.) f. 48v The birdes nestled in hir branches.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xiv. 250 Euery of them in their kind, do all liue, nestle, and sing after one sorte.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique vii. liii. 885 They nestle thrise a yeere, that is to say, in May, Iune, and August.
1629 H. Burton Truth's Triumph 328 Let such vncleane birds neuer nestle or roost in Christian nurceries.
1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iii. 20 They will prey on young birds; whether on such as nestle on the ground [etc.].
1855 W. S. Dallas Syst. Nat. Hist. II. 259 They nestle in rocks and holes of trees, and lay five or six eggs.
b. intransitive. Of a bird: to lodge or settle in or as in a nest. Also figurative. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > nest or bird defined by > [verb (intransitive)] > settle in
nestlec1450
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 506 Þar it nestild in a noke as it a nest were.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccccxxxix A Cock was got into a Stable, and there was he Nestling in the Straw among the Horses.
1751 Affecting Narr. H.M.S. Wager 100 When they [sc. penguins] breed,..they nestle three or four together in a Hole.
1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia I. xii. 245 The warblings of the tropic birds which nestled among the branches.
1885 W. B. Yeats in Dublin Univ. Rev. May 82/1 The birds that nestle in the leaves are sad, Poor sad wood-rhapsodists.
1918 W. Cather My Ántonia i. xi. 94 Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.
c. intransitive. Of other living things.
ΚΠ
1685 R. Codrington Proverbs 96 Bold is the Mouse that Nestleth in the Cats ear.
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 474 The Floor is strow'd..with several kinds of Plants, among which the Snails nestle all the Winter.
1721 J. Swift Bubble 95 The Monsters nestle in the Deep, To seize you in your passing by.
1881 J. Tyndall Ess. Floating Matter of Air 161 It was no uncommon thing to see from ten to twenty monads nestling and quivering in this ‘moss’.
1988 J. Murphy Bad Spell for Worst Witch 54 Enid who would possibly have put two and two together at the curious sight of a cat and frog nestling on the same bed.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > [verb (intransitive)] > establish residence
wickc897
telda1325
buildc1340
nestlea1382
to take (up) one's inn (or inns)a1400
to hold (also keep, make, take, etc.) one's mansiona1425
to take one's lodgec1475
reside1490
inhabit1548
to settle one's rest1562
to sit down1579
to set up (or in) one's staff (of rest)1584
to set (up) one's rest1590
nest1591
to set down one's rest1591
roost1593
inherit1600
habituate1603
seat1612
to take up (one's) residencea1626
settle1627
pitch1629
fix1638
locate1652
to marry and settle1718
domesticate1768
domiciliate1815
to hang up one's hat1826
domicile1831
to stick one's stakes1872
homestead1877
to put down roots1882
to hang one's hat1904
localize1930
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xxii. 23 Thou shalt be confoundyd..that sittist in Liban, and nestlist in cedris [L. nidificabunt].
?1406 T. Hoccleve La Mâle Règle 288 in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 64/1 Lest fauel yow fro wele tryce, No lenger souffre hire nestlen in your ere.
a1425 Dialogue Reason & Adversity (Cambr.) (1968) 3 (MED) Faire fetoured bodi & clennesse of souȝle selden nestele þei to gedere.
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ii. ix. 190 Thei nestled first vpon the floude Araxis.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 672 Some out of Ireland, entred in by stealth into this Isle also and nestled there.
a1656 J. Ussher Ann. World (1658) vi. 304 Menander was coming on with a great army, which would not suffer him to nestle in Cappadocia.
1797 E. Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 422 If they can nestle in the country for any time..they cannot fail of profiting of the discontents.
3. transitive (reflexive). To settle (in, into a place); to establish oneself. Also in extended use. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > take up position [verb (reflexive)] > snugly
nestle1547
niche1801
1547 J. Harrison Exhort. Scottes sig. Dviij These men..nesteled themselfes in the nighte of that ignoraunt worlde.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Eng. 102/1 in Chron. I The Picts..came and nestled themselues in Louthian.
1638 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 5) iii. iv. i. v. 681 The Socinians, that now nestle themselves about Crakowe and Rakowe in Poland.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman Table sig. C2v/2 The Creature..Nestles it selfe in her ease and welfare.
1715 R. South 12 Serm. IV. 153 They have seen Perjury and Murder nestle themselves into a Throne.
1826 Gen. Hist. in Ann. Reg. 101/2 A gentleman..who had nestled himself in an English borough.
1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee iii. 47 The boy nestled himself upon my shoulder and pretended to go to sleep.
1982 V. N. McIntyre Wrath of Khan viii. 185 Instead it had nestled itself in the sulci between the brain's convolutions.
4. † c. transitive. To provide with a nesting-place. Also figurative. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To place or settle in, or as in, a nest; to set in a secure place. Formerly also: †to tend, nurse (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > make safe or secure [verb (transitive)] > place in safety
nestle1548
state1607
sanctuary1615
inlaya1631
lodge1666
ensconce1820
sconce1842
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > care for, protect, or have charge of [verb (transitive)] > affectionately or tenderly
nourishc1300
cherish1340
fosterc1386
lapc1430
tender1449
nestle1548
nuzzlea1577
brood1618
incubate1641
nurslea1652
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxxv King Henry and his faction nesteled and strengthend him and his alyes, in the North regions.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xxiii. 323 This Ithacus, so highly is indear'd To his Minerua; that..She, like his mother, nestles him.
1822 W. Irving Bracebridge Hall I. 261 He..had nestled her, as an eagle does its young, among the rocky heights of the Sierra Morena.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda III. v. xxxv. 44 The words had nestled their venomous life within her.
1991 Daily Tel. 4 Jan. 15/2 There must surely be some way to stop manufacturers of ball point pens, for example, from nestling their absurd products in a channel dug into a bed of false suedette-style plush.
b. transitive. In passive. To be settled, situated, or placed in or as in a nest. Also with in, away, etc.
ΚΠ
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 51 Where foule bird foggye Celœno And Harpy is nestled.
c1595 R. Southwell St. Peter's Complaint 38 My life was nestled In the summe of happinesse.
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry IV xxxviii, in Poems (1878) IV. 10 In Danae's Cage Wee Nestled happy are.
1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. 201 There are lambs amongst them..nestled in by their mothers.
1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 235 So nestled was Petra in its rocks, that [etc.].
1883 Harper's Mag. Mar. 533/1 Little clusters of..trees..told where the little villages were nestled away.
1978 Chicago June 16/1 He poured me some Harvey's Bristol Cream on the rocks from a bottle nestled in a bar that was itself nestled inside a large, polished Abercrombie & Fitch-type wooden globe.
1990 Garden (Royal Hort. Soc.) Sept. 28/2 Nestled amid the rugged peals of the Chilean Andes, the elusive cathedral stands of the alerce cedar, Fitzroya cupressoides, are found in the Southern Hemisphere's last intact expanses of temperate rain forest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habitat > inhabit [verb (intransitive)] > nest
nesteOE
buildc1275
nidify1656
nestlec1660
nidificate1814
nide1881
the world > animals > by habitat > inhabit [verb (transitive)] > build or provide with nest
innest1611
nestlec1660
nest1896
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 175 Trees..which serve to nestle & pearch all sorts of birds.
1838 E. Cook Land of Birth iii Where the citron-tree nestles the soft humming-bird.
1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters xvi. 402 Her first speech is one of those pleasant jests that nestle a gentle philosophy beneath their light wording.
5.
a. intransitive. Of a thing, quality, etc.: to lie, esp. snugly or half-hidden or embedded.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > hide, lie or hidden [verb (intransitive)] > remain in hiding
lurkc1300
to hide one's headc1475
mitch1558
nestle1567
to lie at (on, upon the) lurch1578
to lay low1600
skulk1626
squat1658
to lie by1709
hide1872
to hole up1875
to lie low1880
to lie (also play) doggo1882
to hide out1884
to put the lid on1966
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis vii. 95 By Love which hauing brought Me to my death doth euen in death vnfaded still remaine, To nestle in thy bed and mine let neuer Aire obtaine.
1788 E. Burke Impeachm. W. Hastings in Wks. XIII. 17 It is feared, that partiality may lurk and nestle in the abuse of our forms of proceeding.
a1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1855) 1st Ser. xii. 205 The beauty of the lily nestling in the grass.
1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters ii. 36 His cheerful morality nestles in his heart, and inspires his actions.
1912 J. Conrad Some Reminisc. ii. 61 The black patches of timber nestling in the hollows.
1932 J. C. Powys Glastonbury Romance ix. 255 The image..slid..into the fibres of his being and..nestled there, like a soft-winged bird.
1993 Times 10 May 18/2 Crosswort..has leaves arranged in fours all the way up the stem, with small yellow flowers nestling at the centre of these crosses.
b. intransitive. spec. Of a building, settlement, etc.: to lie sheltered or half-hidden. Usually with among, in, within, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > be positioned or situated [verb (intransitive)] > in a snug or sheltered manner
cradlea1616
niche1778
nestle1842
1842 J. B. Fraser Allee Neemroo II. 320 Numerous villages..nestled in sheltered nooks among the ravines.
1850 B. Taylor Eldorado I. 3 The country-houses of planters..nestling in orange groves.
1884 J. Colborne With Hicks Pasha in Soudan 69 Large groves of palm trees, among which nestled small hamlets.
1936 Amer. Home Feb. 32/2 The house nestles quietly there, a real part of the scene.
1965 J. A. Michener Source 201 The little town nestled securely within its girdle of newly built stone walls.
1988 P. Cutting Children of Siege ix. 105 The town of Baalbek nestles in the foothills of the ante-Lebanon range.
6.
a. intransitive. Of a person: to settle down as in a nest, or in a snug or comfortable manner. Frequently with down, in, into, among, etc.Often with implication of affection, as in sense 6c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > be positioned or situated [verb (intransitive)] > in a snug or sheltered manner > of a person or animal
nestle1687
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 30 The Turks..think it strange that the Francks suffer their Hair to grow; for they say that the Devil nestles in it.
1821 J. Baillie Lady G. Baillie in Metrical Legends xxxii With her in mimick war they wrestle, Beneath her twisted robe they nestle.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge lxxi. 349 She nestled..in Emma Haredale's bosom.
1894 R. Kipling Jungle Bk. ii ‘Bagheera spoke truth,’ he panted, as he nestled down in some cattle-fodder by the window of a hut.
1967 R. K. Narayan Sweet-vendor xi. 149 Now they were saying things against each other and yet they were nestling so close.
1988 Yankee Sept. 139/1 (advt.) Nestle into the gentle embrace of our thick, pure wool Cuddler underquilt.
b. transitive. To press, push, rest, or settle (one's head, etc.) in a snug or affectionate manner. †Formerly also with in (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > embrace > [verb (transitive)] > settle in a snug or affectionate manner
nestlec1696
snuggle1883
c1696 M. Prior Love Disarmed 7 He found a downy bed And nestled in his little head.
1798 F. Burney Let. 3 Mar. in Jrnls. & Lett. (1973) IV. 100 He only nestled his little head in my Neck.
1886 E. Whitaker Tip Cat (new ed.) xix. 261 Letty, quite contented, nestled her face against Tip Cat's sleeve and dozed.
1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders xxxi. 266 She walked very close to me, as though she would nestle her shoulder against mine.
1927 A. Conan Doyle Case-bk. Sherlock Holmes 140 The boy cooed and nestled his head upon his father's breast.
1992 M. Lyons Double Fire x. 169 Laura nestled her head in the hollow of his broad shoulder.
c. intransitive. With against, close to, to, up to: to draw or press near to a thing or person, esp. in an affectionate manner.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > embrace > [verb (intransitive)] > nestle or snuggle up
snug1583
snudge1633
nuzzle1637
snuggle1688
nestle1709
cuddle1710
snuzzle1781
snoozle1831
snuggle1840
pettle1855
coorie1898
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 9. ⁋3 Here Parisatis heard her Niece nestle closer to the Key-hole.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. i. ii. 16 She drew a stool to her mother's feet,..nestling to her and clasping her hand.
1862 C. M. Yonge Countess Kate iii. 52 She would nestle up to her other aunt.
1863 J. C. Jeaffreson Sir Everard's Daughter 176 Nestling closer to him in the dark corner.
1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow i. 35 The child nestled against the mother.
1943 D. Welch Maiden Voy. xxx. 255 Poor Ruth nestled up to Vesta in a passion of affection.
1993 A. Grey Hearts in Hiding xii. 180 He took her arm and she nestled against him as they walked back to the car.
Derivatives
ˈnestled adj. poetic
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > [adjective] > having a (specified) position > in a snug manner
nestled1796
1796 W. Cobbett Poet. Rhapsody on Times 12 in Tit for Tat From many a grove and rosey vale, America perfum'd the gale; But also, from her nestled foes, The foetid breath of Faction rose.
1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh vi. 250 The little naked feet drawn up the way Of nestled birdlings.
1996 J. Peck Coll. Shorter Poems (1999) 373 What steps forth and then reclines like the clay couples at their nestled banquets suspended on tomb lid.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
nestlev.2
/ˈnɛsl/, U.S. /ˈnɛs(ə)l/ Now rare. Chiefly English regional in later use.
intransitive. To be uneasy or restless; to fidget; to move or bustle about.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > restlessness > [verb (intransitive)]
fikec1220
walka1225
shrugc1460
friga1500
fridgea1550
toss1560
fidge1575
trifle1618
figglea1652
jiffle1674
nestle1699
fidget1753
rummage1755
fissle1786
1699 [implied in: B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew (at cited word) What a nestling you keep, how restless and uneasy you are. (at nestling n.3)].
1704 R. Steele Lying Lover iii. 32 Did you mind how she nestled and fum'd inwardly, to see your Ladyship look so well.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) To Nestle about, to move here and there.
1796 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. (ed. 2) II. 335 To Nessle, or Nestle, to fidget.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Nestle, To be restless or uneasy. This is a sense contrary to that given by Dr. Johnson..and may proceed from a different origin, probably, from the Teutonic, nessel, a nettle, it being common to say of a person in such a state, ‘he sits on a bed o'nettles’.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table iv. 86 The old gentleman..nestled about in his seat.
a1903 S. O. Addy in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 253/2 [W. Yorkshire] It's this 'ere job at they're nesslin' about.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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