noun a woman member of a religious order, especially one bound by vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
any of various birds, especially a domestic variety of pigeon.
Origin of nun 1 before 900; Middle English, Old English nunne < Medieval Latin nonna, feminine of nonnus monk
Related forms nun·like , adjective noun the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
the consonant sound represented by this letter.
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Origin of nun 2 First recorded in 1875–80, nun is from the Hebrew word nūn literally, fish
noun the 25th letter of the Arabic alphabet.
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Origin of nūn From
Arabic; see origin at
nun2 ,
nu1 noun Egyptian Religion oldest of the ancient Egyptian gods, personifying the primordial ocean from which the world was formed; father of Ra, the sun god.
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noun a major channel of the Niger River, in W Africa.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for nun Contemporary Examples of nun Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe is a nun of the Sacred Heart who rescues young girls from sexual slavery and rebel attacks in Uganda.
The typical habit for a nun was a, “long-sleeved tunic, reaching the floor and no décolleté, showing,” Campagnol says.
Apparently, Ryan tried bragging about how he sleeps in a cot in his office—to a nun .
These are the celebrities of the nun world, and here is their story.
She considered becoming a nun in a French abbey that was once liberated by her grandfather.
Historical Examples of nun I could see myself like the novice who had just been admitted as a nun .
The idea of becoming a nun always haunted me, but I was no longer mystic.
My father said something to the nun who came forward, and she took us into the parlour.
The dowry left to me by my father was ample enough for the dowry of a nun .
Her bonnet was trimmed with ruches, so close together that it looked like a nun 's head-gear.
British Dictionary definitions for nun noun a female member of a religious order
(sometimes capital) a variety of domestic fancy pigeon usually having a black-and-white plumage with a ridged peak or cowl of short white feathers
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Derived Forms nunlike , adjective Word Origin for nun Old English nunne, from Church Latin nonna, from Late Latin: form of address used for an elderly woman
noun the 14th letter in the Hebrew alphabet (נ or, at the end of a word, ן), transliterated as n
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for nun n. Old English nunne "nun, vestal, pagan priestess, woman devoted to religious life under vows," from Late Latin nonna "nun, tutor," originally (along with masc. nonnus ) a term of address to elderly persons, perhaps from children's speech, reminiscent of nana (cf. Sanskrit nona , Persian nana "mother," Greek nanna "aunt," Serbo-Croatian nena "mother," Italian nonna , Welsh nain "grandmother;" see nanny ).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
A female member of a religious order , living in a convent , whose work is confined to the convent. The term is also applied broadly to other female members of religious orders (“sisters”) who often live outside their convents and work as teachers, nurses, social workers, or administrators.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
