nun

¹ American  

[nuhn] / nʌn /

noun

1. a woman member of a religious order, especially one bound by vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

2. any of various birds, especially a domestic variety of pigeon.

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nun ² American  

[noon, noon] / nun, nʊn /

noun

1. the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

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nūn ³ American  

[noon] / nʊn /

noun

1. the 25th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

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Nun ⁴ American  

[noon] / nun /

Also Nu

noun

Egyptian Religion.

1. 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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nun ¹ British  

/ nʌn /

noun

1. a female member of a religious order

2. (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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nun ² British  

/ nʊn /

noun

1. the 14th letter in the Hebrew alphabet (נ or, at the end of a word, ן), transliterated as n

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nun Cultural  

1. 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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Other Word Forms

• nunlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of nun¹

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

Origin of nun²

First recorded in 1875–80, nun is from the Hebrew word nūn literally, fish

Origin of nūn³

From Arabic; nun ², nu ¹

Example Sentences

Kate presided over a mahogany séance table, dressed simply in a black silk gown with a gold cross around her neck almost like a kind of Spiritualist nun.

From Literature

Marie, who becomes the prioress of the abbey at 17, begins a rise to power — or as much power as a woman is permitted — using her fellow nuns to fight off political and violent incursions.

From Los Angeles Times

Rosa Padhilete, a Franciscan nun who came from Naples, said she felt an "immense, inexplicable joy" seeing the remains.

From Barron's

The Dominican nuns who run the kitchen prepare food for about 80 elderly or destitute people -- growing numbers of Cubans are forced to rummage through garbage bins for food -- each day.

From Barron's

On Tuesday, Homeboy Industries acquired the Monastery of the Angels, a hidden oasis in the Hollywood Hills where cloistered Dominican nuns lived for nearly 90 years before vacating the site in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• sister