Held gently and protectively, as if in a cradle; past tense of 'cradle' meaning to hold with care.
From 'cradle' (noun: a rocking bed; verb: to rock gently) + '-ed' (past tense and adjective-forming suffix). The verb 'cradle' has Old English roots and originally meant literally to place in a cradle or rock gently.
The word 'cradled' appears in poetry far more than almost any other past participle because the image of something being held gently and safely carries such universal emotional resonance across cultures.
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