nun

Meaning

Noun

1. A member of a Christian religious community of women who live by certain vows and usually wear a habit, (Roman Catholicism, specifically) those living together in a cloister.
2. (broadly) A member of a similar female community in other confessions.
3. (British, archaic, slang) A prostitute.
4. A kind of pigeon with the feathers on its head like the hood of a nun.

Pron

Pronunciation spelling of nothing.

Opposite of

brother, friar, monk, frater

Synonyms

sister

👩‍👧

nun buoy

monk

conical buoy

religious

vestal

mullion

old woman

virgin

votaress

cloistress

religious woman

נ

anchorite

Dutch shell pigeon

brother

👨‍👦

chastity

conventual

deaconess

mother

👩‍🍼

Translations

Nonne

monja

nonne

monaca

suora

religieuse

non

freira

Ordensschwester

kloosterzuster

👩‍👧

sanctimonialis

καλόγρια

Pronounced as (IPA)

/nʌn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: nonne

Inherited from Old English: nunne

In summary

From Middle English nonne, nunne, from Old English nunne (“nun”), from Late Latin nonna (“nun, tutor”), originally (along with masculine form nonnus (“man”)) a term of address for elderly persons, perhaps from children's speech, reminiscent of nana, like papa etc. Doublet of nonna.