nestle

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to settle or press oneself closely into a comfortable, sheltered, or affectionate position

   The child began to nestle against her father's shoulder.

2. 2
   verb

   to place someone or something in a snug, sheltered position

   She nestled the vase between two folded blankets for the journey.

3. 3
   verb

   to lie in a sheltered or partly hidden position

   A stone cottage seemed to nestle beneath the wooded hill.

4. 4
   noun

   a close, affectionate embrace or snuggle

   The sleepy child gave her mother one last nestle before bed.

From Middle English nestelen, from Old English nestlian ('to make or occupy a nest'), formed from nest with a frequentative suffix. The image of settling into a nest developed into the modern senses of snuggling closely and lying in a sheltered place.

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