It was I, sir, said the rocker, who had the honor,
some thirty years since, to attend on your highness
in your infancy. --Fuller.
2. One of the curving pieces of wood or metal on which a
cradle, chair, etc., rocks.
3. Any implement or machine working with a rocking motion, as
a trough mounted on rockers for separating gold dust from
gravel, etc., by agitation in water.
4. A play horse on rockers; a rocking-horse.
5. A chair mounted on rockers; a rocking-chair.
6. A skate with a curved blade, somewhat resembling in shape
the rocker of a cradle.
7. (Mach.) Same as {Rock shaft}.
{Rocker arm} (Mach.), an arm borne by a rock shaft.
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.