nun

1
[ nuhn ]
/ nʌn /

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.

Origin of nun

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

OTHER WORDS FROM nun

nun·like, adjective

Definition for nun (2 of 5)

nun 2
[ noon, noo n ]
/ 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 nūn literally, fish

Definition for nun (3 of 5)

nūn
[ noo n ]
/ nʊn /

noun

the 25th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

Origin of nūn

From Arabic; see origin at nun2, nu1

Definition for nun (4 of 5)

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/.

Definition for nun (5 of 5)

Nun River
[ noon ]
/ nun /

noun

a major channel of the Niger River, in W Africa.

Example sentences from the Web for nun

British Dictionary definitions for nun (1 of 2)

nun 1
/ (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)

nun 2
/ (nʊn) /

noun

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

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.