a baby's bed or cot, usu on rockers
a framework of wood or metal used as a support, scaffold, etc
a place of origin
An English gentleman who had lived some years in this region [of Switzerland] said it was the cradle of compulsory education — Mark Twain
from the cradle
from earliest infancy
The children were trained from the cradle to deadly hatred against the Mexicans — William Hickling Prescott
from the cradle to the grave
throughout one's life
Trace a man's career from his cradle to his grave and mark how Fortune has treated him — Samuel Butler
[Old English cradol]