Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Cherish

Cherish (cher"ish) , transitive verb

[French chérir, from cher dear, from Latin carus. See Caress, Finish.]

1.
To treat with tenderness and affection; to nurture with care; to protect and aid.
We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. — 1 Thess. ii. 7
2.
To hold dear; to embrace with interest; to indulge; to encourage; to foster; to promote; as, to cherish religious principle.
To cherish virtue and humanity. — Burke