So you want to know where the word nurse originated. Everyone knows at least one nurse. There are all types of nurses. But did you know that nourishing is the root of nurse. These nourishing care givers have been written of in history books many time and one can learn any aspect of nursing in them.

This page is going to dig into only the origin of the word nurse.

To gain an understanding of the word nurse one must travel back in history to Rome. The Romans were the Latin speaking people. Latin stood side by side with Greek for centuries but since the Roman Empire took over the superpower of the Greek Empire then the Latin language became much more wide spread.

In a very complex story of evolution of culture and languages the Anglo Saxons and the first version of English, or Old English take form in England and the surrounding area.

Meanwhile, several centuries earlier the Latin speaking Romans have adopted the word nutricia to represent the fostering nature of certain things. The feminine form of nutricia is nutricius. All things nourishing and good for the mind, body, and soul, are considered nutricia. By the 13th century the Anglo Saxons had come to refer to the sense of nourishing with the Old English and middle English terms nurice, norse, and nurse. So to the earliest Englanders the nurse was one who could nourish the sick and one who could suckle and care for an infant and child.

It was not until 1850 that the English nurse Florence Nightingale came on the scene to bring some regulations to the practice of nursing. The Lady of the Lamp was instrumental in setting early standards in Nursing that provided a foundation for professional nursing.

Nourishing the mind, body, and soul of the healthy, the newborn, the sick, and the dying continues to this day. There are not very many people in the world who do not know at least one nurse. That nutricius person might be practicing in any of the following nursing fields

You might find modern norse kinwomen folk in any of the following places.

• Hospital
• Office
• Nursing Home
• Travelling nurse
• Home care givers
• Work place

While the word nurse is typically used to identify professionals who get paid to care for people it is a bit of a misconception to think that.

Mothers are nurses by nature. They nourish their offspring and their loved ones just like all birds, and animals do.

The difference only lies in the licensing of a professional nurse. Learning the art and science that allows one to practice professional nursing is a discipline. The knowledge can be learned in hundreds of colleges and Universities.

In today's world of modern technology a person wanting to learn this care giving discipline can approach the venture through online nursing courses. An online nurse program can lead the student to achieve the competence level which will allow one to write nursing exams for licenses at the certificate or associate nurse level. Others might be more inclined to go into even higher licences at the Bachelor's Degree level which makes one a registered nurse. The ultimate goal of the student nurse might be to be a Nurse Practitioner. This license is almost the equivalent of that of a General Practioner of Medicine or the basic level Doctor.

Now you know a bit more about the word nurse and nourishing.