nun

Meaning

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. A member of a similar female community in other confessions.
3. (slang) A prostitute.
4. A kind of pigeon with the feathers on its head like the hood of a nun.

sister

cloistress

religious woman

Dutch shell pigeon

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/nʌn/

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.

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