Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English nunne < Medieval Latin nonna, feminine of nonnus monk
before 900; Middle English, Old English nunne < Medieval Latin nonna, feminine of nonnus monk
Related forms
nun·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
00:10
Nun
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To nun
Collins
World English Dictionary
nun1 (nʌn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 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 |
| [Old English nunne, from Church Latin nonna, from Late Latin: form of address used for an elderly woman] | |
| 'nunlike1 | |
| —adj | |
| nun2 (nʊn) | |
| —n | |
| the 14th letter in the Hebrew alphabet (נ or, at the end of a word, ן), transliterated as n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
nun
O.E. nunne, from L.L. nonna "nun, tutor," originally (along with masc. nonnus) a term of address to elderly persons, perhaps from children's speech, reminiscent of nana (cf. Skt. nona, Pers. nana "mother," Gk. nanna "aunt," Serbo-Cr. nena "mother," It. nonna, Welsh nain "grandmother;" see
nanny). Nunnery, c.1275, originally meant "nunhood." Sense of "house of ill-fame" is first recorded 1593.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
nun definition
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 American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary
Nun definition
Beyond the fact that he was the father of Joshua nothing more is known of him (Ex. 33:11).
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
