'Cradle' comes from Old English 'cradol' — possibly meaning a small woven basket, origin uncertain.
A baby's bed, typically on rockers; a place or region where something originated or was nurtured in its early stages.
From Old English 'cradol' (a cradle, a small bed or cot for an infant), from Proto-Germanic *kradulaz, though the further etymology is debated. The most plausible reconstruction links it to Old High German 'kratto' (a wicker basket or hamper) and Swiss German 'Kratte' (basket), pointing to a Proto-Germanic root meaning something woven or plaited — early cradles were indeed woven from wicker or rushes rather than built from solid wood. Some scholars have proposed
The phrase 'cradle of civilization' is first recorded in the 19th century, referring to Mesopotamia. The expression 'from the cradle to the grave' (meaning throughout one's entire life) dates to the 16th century. The 'cat's cradle' string game gets its name from the cradle-like shape formed by the strings