See Also:

nun(1) (iou)



nun noun1 & verb.
[Old English nunne = Old High German nunna (Middle High German, German dial. nunne), Old Norse nunna; partly from Old French nonne= Middle Dutch nonne (Dutch non), German Nonne, from ecclesiastical Latin nonna fem. of nonnus monk, orig. a title given to an elderly person.]
A. noun.
A member of a Christian community of women living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, according to the rule of a particular order, and devoted chiefly to religious duties, prayer, and often social, educational, or medical work. OE.
b. A priestess or votaress of a god. Long rare or obsolete. OE.
c. transf. A courtesan. arch. slang. L16.
Any of various birds whose plumage resembles a nun's habit, esp. (a) the blue tit; (b) the smew; (c) a black and white variety of the domestic pigeon; (d) Austral. the white-faced chat, Ephthianura albifrons. L16.
A tussock moth, Lymantria monacha, which is a pest of Eurasian forests. Also called black arches. M19.
Comb.: nunbird any of several puffbirds of the genera Monasa and Hapaloptila; nun's cloth a thin light woollen fabric; nun's flesh a cold or ascetic temperament; nun's veiling a thin light dress fabric.
b. verb trans. Infl. -nn-. Confine or shut up as in a nunnery; cause to take vows as a nun. rare. M18.
nunhood noun the state or profession of being a nun; life as a nun: E19.
nunlike adverb & adjective (a) adverb in the manner of a nun; (b) adjective resembling (that of) a nun: L16.
nunnish adjective of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a nun; nunlike: L16.
nunship noun the state or condition of being a nun E17.