crèche

plural crèches · alternative creche

1. A representation of the nativity scene.

   At last, all was complete. The creche at Greccio looked like a new Bethlehem. The baby Jesus would be placed in the manger at midnight Mass.

   2007, Clyde A. Bonar, Amen, I Say to You, page 666

2. IrelandUKA day nursery.

   They drop their two-year-old off at the crèche in the morning before they go to work.

   1 more example

   If you leave the kids in the creche for one morning on your week's holiday, and they are OK with that, then it's fine.

   2012, Roni Jay, The 10 Most Important Things You Can Do For Your Children

3. historicalA hospital for orphaned infants; a foundling hospital.

   In line with this policy, a couple could adopt a Crèche foundling only if one or both of them were Roman Catholics.

   1973, Wayne Dennis, Children of the Crèche, page 74

   1 more example

   One road leads to desertion of the child in a convenient hallway; another to the creche of a foundling hospital; a third, to a boarding home, good or indifferent, for the child.

   1894, Amos Griswold Warner, American Charities: A Study in Philanthropy and Economics, page 272

4. collectivemarine biologyA group of young who stay together for protection.