Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Vault \Vault\ (v[add]lt; see Note, below), n. [OE. voute, OF.
   voute, volte, F. vo[^u]te, LL. volta, for voluta, volutio,
   fr. L. volvere, volutum, to roll, to turn about. See
   {Voluble}, and cf. {Vault} a leap, {Volt} a turn, {Volute}.]
   1. (Arch.) An arched structure of masonry, forming a ceiling
      or canopy.

            The long-drawn aisle and fretted vault. --Gray.

   2. An arched apartment; especially, a subterranean room, use
      for storing articles, for a prison, for interment, or the
      like; a cell; a cellar. ``Charnel vaults.'' --Milton.

            The silent vaults of death.           --Sandys.

            To banish rats that haunt our vault.  --Swift.

   3. The canopy of heaven; the sky.

            That heaven's vault should crack.     --Shak.

   4. [F. volte, It. volta, originally, a turn, and the same
      word as volta an arch. See the Etymology above.] A leap or
      bound. Specifically:
      (a) (Man.) The bound or leap of a horse; a curvet.
      (b) A leap by aid of the hands, or of a pole, springboard,
          or the like.

   Note: The l in this word was formerly often suppressed in
         pronunciation.

   {Barrel}, {Cradle}, {Cylindrical}, or {Wagon}, {vault}
      (Arch.), a kind of vault having two parallel abutments,
      and the same section or profile at all points. It may be
      rampant, as over a staircase (see {Rampant vault}, under
      {Rampant}), or curved in plan, as around the apse of a
      church.

   {Coved vault}. (Arch.) See under 1st {Cove}, v. t.

   {Groined vault} (Arch.), a vault having groins, that is, one
      in which different cylindrical surfaces intersect one
      another, as distinguished from a barrel, or wagon, vault.
      

   {Rampant vault}. (Arch.) See under {Rampant}.

   {Ribbed vault} (Arch.), a vault differing from others in
      having solid ribs which bear the weight of the vaulted
      surface. True Gothic vaults are of this character.

   {Vault light}, a partly glazed plate inserted in a pavement
      or ceiling to admit light to a vault below.

Cradle \Cra"dle\ (kr[=a]d'l), n. [AS. cradel, cradol, prob. from
   Celtic; cf. Gael. creathall, Ir. craidhal, W. cryd a shaking
   or rocking, a cradle; perh. akin to E. crate.]
   1. A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or
      swinging on pivots; hence, the place of origin, or in
      which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier
      period of existence; as, a cradle of crime; the cradle of
      liberty.

            The cradle that received thee at thy birth.
                                                  --Cowper.

            No sooner was I crept out of my cradle But I was
            made a king, at nine months old.      --Shak.

   2. Infancy, or very early life.

            From their cradles bred together.     --Shak.

            A form of worship in which they had been educated
            from their cradles. --Clarendon.

   3. (Agric.) An implement consisting of a broad scythe for
      cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the
      scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it
      evenly in a swath.

   4. (Engraving) A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by
      a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the
      plate, so preparing the ground.

   5. A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or
      rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other
      vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or
      across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.

   6. (Med.)
      (a) A case for a broken or dislocated limb.
      (b) A frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with the
          person.

   7. (Mining)
      (a) A machine on rockers, used in washing out auriferous
          earth; -- also called a {rocker}. [U.S.]
      (b) A suspended scaffold used in shafts.

   8. (Carp.) The ribbing for vaulted ceilings and arches
      intended to be covered with plaster. --Knight.

   9. (Naut.) The basket or apparatus in which, when a line has
      been made fast to a wrecked ship from the shore, the
      people are brought off from the wreck.

   {Cat's cradle}. See under {Cat}.

   {Cradle hole}, a sunken place in a road, caused by thawing,
      or by travel over a soft spot.

   {Cradle scythe}, a broad scythe used in a cradle for cutting
      grain.

Cradle \Cra"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cradled} (-d'ld); p. pr.
   & vb. n. {Cradling} (-dl?ng).]
   1. To lay to rest, or rock, as in a cradle; to lull or quiet,
      as by rocking.

            It cradles their fears to sleep.      --D. A. Clark.

   2. To nurse or train in infancy.

            He that hath been cradled in majesty will not leave
            the throne to play with beggars.      --Glanvill.

   3. To cut and lay with a cradle, as grain.

   4. To transport a vessel by means of a cradle.

            In Lombardy . . . boats are cradled and transported
            over the grade.                       --Knight.

   {To cradle a picture}, to put ribs across the back of a
      picture, to prevent the panels from warping.

Cradle \Cra"dle\, v. i.
   To lie or lodge, as in a cradle.

         Withered roots and husks wherein the acorn cradled.
                                                  --Shak.

Source : WordNet®

cradle
     n 1: a baby bed with sides and rockers
     2: where something originated or was nurtured in its early
        existence; "the birthplace of civilization" [syn: {birthplace},
         {place of origin}, {provenance}]
     3: birth of a person; "he was taught from the cradle never to
        cry"
     4: a trough on rockers used by gold miners to shake earth in
        water in order to separate the gold [syn: {rocker}]

cradle
     v 1: hold gently and carefully; "He cradles the child in his
          arms"
     2: bring up from infancy
     3: hold or place in or as if in a cradle; "He cradled the
        infant in his arms"
     4: cut grain with a cradle scythe
     5: wash in a cradle; "cradle gold"
     6: run with the stick