nun

¹

[nuhn]

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.

nun

²

[noon, noon]

noun

1. the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

Nun

³

Also Nu

[noon]

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.

nūn

⁴

[noon]

noun

1. the 25th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

nun

¹

/ 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

nun

²

/ nʊn /

noun

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

nun

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.

Other Word Forms

• nunlike adjective

Word History and Origins

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 nun³

From Arabic; nun ², nu ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of nun¹

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

Example Sentences

Earlier this fall, a group of faith leaders including priests and nuns were detained after being refused admission inside to administer communion, an essential element of a Catholic’s faith life.

Read more on Salon

They slept 20 to a room, with a nun at one end, and the door locked.

Read more on BBC

Around a century ago, composers couldn’t get enough of lustful, visionary nuns.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She dissented, prompting a nun to call her parents and report heretical notions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Rendiles, the nun who overcame a disability, is less well known to Catholics in Venezuela.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• sister