Creche

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Creche \Cr[`e]che\ (kr[asl]sh), n. [F.]
     1. A public nursery, where the young children of poor women
        are cared for during the day, while their mothers are at
        work.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. a day-care center for young children.
        [PJC]
  
     3. a three-dimensional model of the scene described in the
        Bible at the birth of Jesus Christ in a stable at
        Bethlehem, with Mary and Joseph near a manger in which a
        model of the infant Christ child is lain, and usually
        including figures of animals, shepherds, and the three
        wise men; -- also called a {Nativity scene}. The figures
        in the scene are typically made as individual statues or
        figurines. Smaller models are displayed in homes and other
        indoor locations during the Christmans season, and larger
        models, often life-size, may be displayed out of doors.
        [PJC]
  
     4. (Biol.) a nest where the young of several animals are
        cared for in a communal fashion.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  creche
       n 1: a hospital where foundlings (infant children of unknown
            parents) are taken in and cared for [syn: {foundling
            hospital}]
       2: a representation of Christ's nativity in the stable at
          Bethlehem