The figurative use of cradle is used to mean "the place or region in which anything is nurtured or sheltered in its earlier stage" – such that the term cradle of civilization means the place where civilization was first nurtured and sheltered.
The figurative use of cradle is
used to mean "the place or region in which anything is nurtured or
sheltered in its earlier stage" – such that the term cradle of civilization means the place where
civilization was first nurtured and sheltered is true.