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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Nestle \Nes"tle\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Nestled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Nestling}.] [AS. nestlian.]
1. To make and occupy a nest; to nest. [Obs.]
The kingfisher . . . nestles in hollow banks. --L'Estrange.
2. To lie close and snug, as a bird in her nest; to cuddle up; to settle, as in a nest; to harbor; to take shelter.
Their purpose was to fortify in some strong place of the wild country, and there nestle till succors came. --Bacon.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads. --Clement Clarke Moore (A Visit From St. Nicholas, (a poem [1823]) also called The {Night Before Christmas}). [PJC]
3. To move about in one's place, like a bird when shaping the interior of her nest or a young bird getting close to the parent; as, a child nestles.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Nestling \Nes"tling\ n.
1. A young bird which has not abandoned the nest. --Piers Plowman.
2. A nest; a receptacle. [Obs.] --Bacon.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Nestling \Nes"tling\, adjective Newly hatched; being yet in the nest.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
nestling
noun
1: young bird not yet fledged [syn: {baby bird}]
2: a young person of either sex; "she writes books for children"; "they're just kids"; "'tiddler' is a British term for youngsters" [syn: {child}, {kid}, {youngster}, {minor}, {shaver}, {nipper}, {small fry}, {tiddler}, {tike}, {tyke}, {fry}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
151 Moby Thesaurus words for "nestling": amorous dalliance, apprentice, avifauna, baby, baby bird, beginner, billing and cooing, bird, bird of Jove, bird of Juno, bird of Minerva, bird of night, bird of passage, bird of prey, birdie, birdlife, birdling, birdy, bundling, cage bird, calf, callow, caressing, catechumen, catling, chick, chickling, chicky, colt, cub, cuddling, cygnet, dalliance, deb, debutant, dewy, diving bird, dogie, dove, duckling, eagle, eaglet, entrant, ever-new, evergreen, fawn, firsthand, fish-eating bird, fledgling, flightless bird, foal, fondling, fowl, fresh, freshman, fruit-eating bird, fryer, fulmar, game bird, gosling, green, greenhorn, greeny, hugging, immature, infant, insect-eating bird, intact, kid, kissing, kit, kitten, lamb, lambkin, learner, litter, lollygagging, lovemaking, maiden, maidenly, migrant, migratory bird, necking, neophyte, neoteric, nest, new, newcomer, novice, novitiate, nuzzling, original, oscine bird, owl, passerine bird, peacock, peafowl, peahen, perching bird, petting, pigeon, piglet, pigling, polliwog, pristine, probationer, pullet, pup, puppy, ratite, raw, raw recruit, recruit, rookie, sea bird, seed-eating bird, sempervirent, sexual intercourse, shoat, shore bird, snuggling, songbird, spooning, squab, storm petrel, stormy petrel, swan, tadpole, tenderfoot, trainee, tyro, unbeaten, undeveloped, unfledged, unhandled, untouched, untried, untrodden, unused, vernal, virgin, virginal, wading bird, warbler, water bird, waterfowl, weaner, whelp, wildfowl, yeanling, young
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