verb/bɛʁ.se/
to cradle; to rock
“Il y avait, sur une étoile, une planète, la mienne, la Terre, un petit prince à consoler ! Je le pris dans les bras. Je le berçai.” — On one star, one planet, my planet, the Earth, there was a little prince to be comforted. I took him in my arms, and rocked him.
Related: avoir été bercé trop près du mur, berceuse
Inherited from Middle French [Term?], from Old French bercier (“to rock”), from Vulgar Latin *bertiāre, via Gaulish from Proto-Celtic *berta- (“to shake”), related to *bereti (“to carry”). See berceau (“cradle”).