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cra·dle-to-grave (krād′l-tə-grāv)

adj.

1. Present or in effect throughout a person's lifetime: cradle-to-grave health care.

2. Occurring or persisting from beginning to end: "the cradle-to-grave effects on the environment of making, using and disposing of a product" (Cynthia Crossen).

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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