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nun

1
[ nuhn ]
/ nʌn /
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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.
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Origin of nun

1
before 900; Middle English, Old English nunne<Medieval Latin nonna, feminine of nonnus monk

OTHER WORDS FROM nun

nunlike, adjective

Other definitions for nun (2 of 4)

nun2
[ noon, noon ]
/ nun, nʊn /

noun
the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
the consonant sound represented by this letter.

Origin of nun

2
First recorded in 1875–80, nun is from the Hebrew word nĆ«n literally, fish

Other definitions for nun (3 of 4)

Nun
[ noon ]
/ nun /

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.
Also Nu [noo] /nu/ .

Other definitions for nun (4 of 4)

nƫn
[ noon ]
/ nʊn /

noun
the 25th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

Origin of nƫn

From Arabic; see origin at nun2, nu1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nun in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nun (1 of 2)

nun1
/ (nʌn) /

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

Derived forms of nun

nunlike, adjective

Word Origin for nun

Old English nunne, from Church Latin nonna, from Late Latin: form of address used for an elderly woman

British Dictionary definitions for nun (2 of 2)

nun2
/ (nʊn) /

noun
the 14th letter in the Hebrew alphabet (ڠ or, at the end of a word, ڟ), transliterated as n
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

Cultural definitions for nun

nun

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.

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.
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