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Webster 1913 Edition


nun

nun

(nŭn)
,
Noun.
[OE.
nunne
, AS.
nunne
, fr. L.
nonna
nun,
nonnus
monk; cf. Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK]; of unknown origin. Cf.
Nunnery
.]
1.
A woman devoted to a religious life, who lives in a convent, under the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
They holy time is quiet as a
nun

Breathless with adoration.
Wordsworth.
2.
(Zool.)
(a)
A white variety of domestic pigeons having a veil of feathers covering the head.
(b)
The smew.
(c)
The European blue titmouse.
Gray nuns
(R. C. Ch.)
,
the members of a religious order established in Montreal in 1745, whence branches were introduced into the United States in 1853; – so called from the color or their robe, and known in religion as
Sisters of Charity of Montreal
.
Nun buoy
.
See under
Buoy
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Nun

NUN

,
Noun.
A woman devoted to a religious life, and who lives in a cloister or nunnery, secluded from the world, under a vow of perpetual chastity.

NUN

,
Noun.
1.
A web-footed fowl of the size of a duck, with a white head and neck.
2.
The blue titmouse.

Definition 2024


Nun

Nun

See also: nun, nún, nùn, ñun, Nun., and ن

English

Proper noun

Nun

  1. (very rare) A male given name
    • 1611, Bible (KJV), Deuteronomy 34:9::
      And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Etymology 2

Proper noun

  1. The languages of the Bamun people of western Cameroon.

nun

nun

See also: Nun, nún, nùn, ñun, Nun., and ن

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: nŭn, IPA(key): /nʌn/
  • Rhymes: -ʌn
  • Homophone: none

Noun

nun (plural nuns)

  1. A member of a Christian religious community of women who live by certain vows and usually wear a habit, in some cases living together in a cloister.
  2. By extension, member of a similar female community in other confessions.
  3. (archaic, British slang) A prostitute.[1]
    • 1770, Foote, Samuel, The Lame Lover, page 12:
      Then lend me your ear—Why last night, as Colonel Kill'em, Sir William Weezy, Lord Frederick Foretop, and I were carelessly sliding the Ranelagh round, picking our teeth, after a damn'd muzzy dinner at Boodle's, who should trip by but an abbess, well known about town, with a smart little nun in her suite.
    • 1881, Egan, Pierce, chapter 8, in Life in London, page 205:
      "I mean to inform you," answered the Oxonian, with a grin on his face, "that those three nymphs, who have so much dazzled your optics, are three nuns, and the plump female is Mother .... of great notoriety [...]"
Synonyms
  • (member of a religious community): sister, moniale, sistren
  • (prostitute): see Wikisaurus:prostitute
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Ultimately from Proto-Semitic *nūn- (fish).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • enPR: nŏŏn, IPA(key): /nʊn/ or enPR: no͞on, IPA(key): /nuːn/

Noun

nun (plural nuns)

  1. The fourteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).
Translations

External links

References

  1. Farmer, John Stephen (1902) Slang and Its Analogues, volume 5, page 76
  • nun” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Asturian

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

From Latin nōn.

Adverb

nun

  1. not, no (used to make negatives)

Contraction

nun

  1. in a/an (contraction of en + un)

Chiricahua

Alternative forms

  • non (in older Americanist literature)

Etymology

Cognates: Navajo nooʼ, Western Apache non, noi, Plains Apache nǫǫ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nòn/

Noun

nun

  1. grave, burial place
  2. cache

Esperanto

Etymology

German nun.

Adverb

nun

  1. now

Derived terms


Fala

Adverb

nun

  1. Alternative form of non

Galician

Etymology

From contraction of preposition en (in) + masculine article un (a, one)

Contraction

nun m (feminine nunha, masculine plural nuns, feminine plural nunhas)

  1. in a, in one

German

Alternative forms

  • nu (colloquial; otherwise archaic)

Etymology

From Middle High German nu, nū, nuo with a secondary final -n, already occasionally in Middle High German nuon.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nuːn/

Adverb

nun

  1. now, then; expressing a logical or temporal consequence
    Wir haben abgewaschen, nun müssen wir noch abtrocknen.
    We've washed up, now we must dry [the dishes].
    Was bedeuten nun die geschilderten Entwicklungen für unser Land?
    Now what do the aforementioned developments mean for our country?
  2. unstressed and expletive, used for minor emphasis
    Was soll das nun heißen?
    What's that supposed to mean now?

Usage notes

  • Although the adverb is similar and akin to English “now”, German nun is not commonly used in a strictly temporal sense, meaning “at this moment”. For that, see jetzt.

Interjection

nun

  1. now, well, so
    Nun, das ist eine schwierige Frage.
    Well, that's a tough question.

Hausa

Noun

nun f

  1. Arabic letter nun (ن)

Ido

Adverb

nun

  1. now

Lojban

Rafsi

nun

  1. rafsi of nu.

Mirandese

Adverb

nun

  1. not

Novial

Adverb

nun

  1. now

Old French

Etymology 1

See nom.

Noun

nun m (oblique plural nuns, nominative singular nuns, nominative plural nun)

  1. (Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of nom

Etymology 2

Reduced from of negun.

Adjective

nun m (oblique and nominative feminine singular nune)

  1. Alternative form of negun

Pronoun

nun

  1. Alternative form of negun

Rohingya

Etymology

From Bengali.

Noun

nun

  1. salt

Romanian

Etymology

From Late Latin nonnus.

Noun

nun m (plural nuni, feminine equivalent nună)

  1. the godfather at a wedding

Declension

Derived terms

See also


Turkish

Etymology

From Arabic نُون (nūn).

Noun

nun

  1. Letter of the Arabic alphabet: ن
    • Previous: م
    • Next: و

Volapük

Noun

nun (plural nuns)

  1. message

Declension