nest

1. 1. A container or shelter made by a bird out of twigs, grass, or other material to hold its eggs and young.
   2. A similar structure in which fish, insects, or other animals deposit eggs or keep their young.
   3. A place in which young are reared; a lair.
   4. A number of insects, birds, or other animals occupying such a place: a nest of hornets.
2. A place affording snug refuge or lodging; a home.
3. 1. A place or environment that fosters rapid growth or development, especially of something undesirable; a hotbed: a nest of criminal activity.
   2. Those who occupy or frequent such a place or environment.
4. 1. A set of objects of graduated size that can be stacked together, each fitting within the one immediately larger: a nest of tables.
   2. A cluster of similar things.
5. Computer Science. A set of data contained sequentially within another.
6. A group of weapons in a prepared position: a machine-gun nest.

1. To build or occupy a nest.
2. To create and settle into a warm and secure refuge.
3. To hunt for birds' nests, especially in order to collect the eggs.
4. To fit together in a stack.

1. To place in or as if in a nest.
2. To put snugly together or inside one another: to nest boxes.

[Middle English, from Old English.]

WORD HISTORY   Nest is an ancient word, *nizdos in Indo-European, composed of the prefix *ni- "down," plus a form of the verbal root *sed-, "to sit," followed by a suffix used to form nouns, *-os. Thus a *ni-zd-os literally means "(place where the bird) sits down." In Germanic, an old zd became st. Thus *nizdos became *nistaz, which further changed in Old English to nest. Latin also inherited the word *nizdos from Indo-European, where it eventually changed to nīdus. This word has been borrowed into English as a scientific term. The prefix *ni- survives elsewhere in English, too, in the words beneath and nether.

(click to enlarge)
Nest of the American robin. (credit: Jeff Foott/Bruce Coleman Inc.)

Structure built by an animal as a permanent home or for bearing and rearing offspring. The social insects build systems of chambers and tunnels, above or below ground. Fishes' nests vary from shallow depressions in sand to enclosed structures constructed of vegetation. Certain frog species build mud-basin nests or floating masses of hardened froth. Alligators use mud and vegetation and cobras use leaves and forest litter to build a nest for their eggs. The most common type of bird nest is a cup-shaped or domed structure of twigs, leaves, mud, and feathers. Many mammals, especially small ones, build nests in trees, on the ground, or in burrows.

For more information on nest, visit Britannica.com.

The way in which one network fits into a larger one, for example, in central place theory, where a smaller market area fits into a larger one.

1. the bed or shelter constructed by a bird for deposition of its eggs and rearing of its young.
2. a bed prepared by an animal.
3. an accumulation of cells in a foreign location.

• n. building — a signal of oncoming broodiness in female birds and of imminent parturition in some mammals.

To see a nest or to be building a nest may indicate that a new home is being prepared or built. A strong sense of homemaking, or having that "nesting" instinct, occurs when a woman is pregnant. A desire to go home may be expressed by this dream symbol.

For other uses, see Nest (disambiguation).

Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (June 2007)

A basket style nest

A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs and/or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building. Human-made materials, such as string, plastic, cloth, hair or paper, may be used.

Generally each species has a distinctive style of nest. Nests can be found in many different habitats. They are built primarily by birds, but also by mammals (e.g. squirrels), fish, insects (e.g. wasps and termites) and reptiles (e.g. snakes and turtles).

The urge to prepare an area for the building of a nest is referred to as the nesting instinct and may occur in both mammals and birds.

Contents 1 Bird nest 1.1 Names of nests 2 Gallery 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

Bird nest

Baby Blue Jays in a nest

Main article: Bird nest

Most species of birds build some sort of nest, though some lay their eggs directly onto rock ledges or bare soil without first modifying the area.

Nest types vary from the very simple scrape, which is merely a shallow depression in soil or vegetation, to the elaborately woven pendant or sphere. Some birds will build nests in trees, some (such as vultures, eagles, and many seabirds like Kittiwakes) will build them on rocky ledges, and others nest on the ground or in burrows.

They may have some or all of the following zones: attachment; outer decorative layer; structural layer; lining.

Names of nests

• A badger's nest is called a sett.
• An eagle's nest is called an eyrie.
• A squirrel's or ringtail possum's nest is called a drey.
• A hare's nest is called a form.
• A pheasant's nest is called a nide.
• A wasps' nest is called a vespiary.

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has more pictures of: Nests

Nest in grass	The inside of a bird's nest	Redwings typically make ground nests	Mud nests made by swallows
Female Bald Eagle on nest with egg	A nest in a lamp	A bird building a basket nest	Colonial pendant nests of Montezuma Oropendola
Wasp starting a nest	Insect nest in culvert, Wilcannia, New South Wales Australia	Eastern gray squirrel's drey in South Nottinghamshire, England	A termite nest in Mexico
Oriental Turtle Dove, exposed after leaf fall, Chiba, Japan

References

• Hansell, Bird nests and construction behaviour, CUP 2005, ISBN 0-521-01764-5

See also

• Birdnesting – the criminal activity of collecting nests and eggs
• Bird nest
• Bird's nest soup
• Crow's nest
• Nest box

External links

• www.earthlife.net/birds/nests.html

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - rede
v. intr. - bygge rede, anbringe (inden i hinanden)
v. tr. - indlejre

idioms:

• fly the nest    flytte hjemmefra, forlade boet
• leave the nest    flytte hjemmefra, forlade boet
• nest egg    redeæg, spareskilling

Nederlands (Dutch)
nest, broeinest, optrekje, zwerm/ verzameling, nestelen, nesten (uithalen), in elkaar passen

Français (French)
n. - nid, nichée, série, nid (de criminels)
v. intr. - faire son nid, s'insérer, s'emboîter
v. tr. - nicher, emboîter

idioms:

• fly the nest    quitter le nid familial
• leave the nest    quitter le nid familial
• nest egg    magot

Deutsch (German)
n. - Nest, Zufluchtsort, Brutstätte, Satz, Brut, Schwarm
v. - nisten, Nester ausnehmen, ineinanderpassen

idioms:

• fly the nest    aus dem Elternhaus ausziehen
• leave the nest    das Nest verlassen, flügge werden
• nest egg    Nestei, Notgroschen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φωλιά, λημέρι, άντρο, σμήνος (εντόμων κ.λπ.), γέννα πουλιών
v. - φωλιάζω, κουρνιάζω, (Η/Υ) ενσωματώνω υπορουτίνα σε ρουτίνα, εμφωλεύω

idioms:

• fly the nest    εγκαταλείπω την οικογενειακή εστία, παίρνω το δρόμο μου
• leave the nest    εγκαταλείπω την οικογενειακή εστία, παίρνω το δρόμο μου
• nest egg    αβγομάνα, πρόσφωλο, φώλι, (μτφ.) κομπόδεμα, αποκούμπι

Italiano (Italian)
nidificare, nido

idioms:

• feather one's nest    far soldi
• fly the nest    lasciare il nido
• leave the nest    andarsene
• nest egg    gruzzolo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ninho (m), toca (f), jogo (m)
v. - aninhar, procurar e tirar ninhos de pássaros

idioms:

• feather one's nest    aproveitar-se de oportunidades para enriquecer
• fly the nest    sair de casa (especialmente crianças)
• leave the nest    abandonar o ninho
• nest egg    economias

Русский (Russian)
гнездиться, гнездо

idioms:

• feather one's nest    греть руки
• fly the nest    покинуть отчий дом
• leave the nest    покинуть отчий дом
• nest egg    сбережения

Español (Spanish)
n. - nido, querencia, guarida
v. intr. - anidar, encajar, empalmar
v. tr. - poner en un nido o como en un nido

idioms:

• fly the nest    abandonar la casa paterna
• leave the nest    abandonar la casa paterna, salir del nido
• nest egg    nidal, ahorrillos

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - rede, bo, krypin, näste, kull, liga, sats(bord)
v. - bygga bo, förpacka, kapsla

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
巢, 休息所, 窝, 筑巢, 找鸟巢, 造巢, 使套入

idioms:

• fly the nest    出外独立生活
• leave the nest    出外独立生活
• nest egg    留窝蛋, 储蓄金

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 巢, 休息所, 窩
v. intr. - 築巢, 找鳥巢
v. tr. - 造巢, 使套入

idioms:

• fly the nest    出外獨立生活
• leave the nest    出外獨立生活
• nest egg    留窩蛋, 儲蓄金

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 보금자리, 피난처, 소굴,온상
v. intr. - 새집을 찾다, 보금자리를 짓다
v. tr. - 보금자리를 지어주다, (상자 등을)포개 넣다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 巣, 巣の中のもの, 群れ, 巣窟, 温床, 居ごこちのよい場所, 休憩所, 入れ子一組, 休息所
v. - 巣を作る, 巣に入れる, 入れ子式にする, 入れ子になる

idioms:

• crow's nest    クローネスト, 見張所
• mare's nest    幻の大発見, 実はつまらないもの, 期待外れ
• nest egg    抱き卵, 準備金

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عش, مأوى, وكر (فعل) يبنى عشا او مأوى, يضع في العش‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בית, קן, מקלט, מקום מיסתור, מערכת שחילה, קבוצת דברים בגדלים שונים המותאמים לאיחסון יחד, מאורה‬
v. intr. - ‮קינן, השחיל, סידר זה בתוך זה, בנה קן, ליקט קנים וביצים, התאימו זה לזה‬
v. tr. - ‮קבע את קנו ב-, סידר זה בתוך זה, שיבץ בתוך‬

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