# nun
## English
### Etymology 1

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.

#### Pronunciation

* enPR: nŭn, IPA: /nʌn/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* (Northern England, Ireland) IPA: /nʊn/
* Homophone: none
* Rhymes: -ʌn

#### Noun

nun (plural nuns)
* 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.
    Synonyms: sister, moniale, sistren, cloistress
    Antonyms: brother, friar, monk, frater
** 1988, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions, Faber & Faber Limited (2021), page 258:Thus, when the nuns came to the mission and we saw that instead of murmuring soft blessings and gliding seraphically over the grass in diaphanous habits, they wore smart blouses and skirts and walked, laughed and talked in low twanging tones very much like our own American missionaries did, we were very disappointed.
* (by extension) A member of a similar female community in other confessions.
    a Buddhist nun
* (archaic, British, slang) A prostitute.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:prostitute
** 1770, Samuel Foote, The Lame Lover, a Comedy in Three Acts. […], London: […] Paul Vaillant; and sold by P[eter] Elmsly […]; and Robinson and Roberts, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 12:Why laſt night, as Colonel Kill'em, Sir William Weezy, Lord Frederick Foretop, and I were careleſsly ſliding the Ranelagh round, picking our teeth, after a damn'd muzzy dinner at Boodle's, who ſhould trip by but an abbeſs, well known about town, with a ſmart little nun in her ſuite.
** 1881, Pierce Egan, chapter 8, in Life in London‎, page 205:"I mean to inform you," answered the Oxonian, with a grin on his face, "that those three nymphs, who have so much dazzled your optics, are three nuns, and the plump female is Mother .... of great notoriety [...]"
* A kind of pigeon with the feathers on its head like the hood of a nun.

##### Usage notes

* In Roman Catholicism, a distinction is often drawn, especially by members of female religious orders, between nuns and sisters, the former being cloistered and devoted primarily to prayer, while the latter being more active, doing work such as operating hospitals, caring for the poor, or teaching.

##### Hyponyms

* See Poor Clare

##### Derived terms

* corporate nun
* dry as a nun's cunt
* dry as a nun's nasty
* nun buoy
* nun-coloured
* nunhood
* nun-like
* nunlike
* Nun Monkton
* nun moth
* nunnery
* Nun of the Visitation

##### Related terms

* (member of a religious community): nonnus
* (prostitute): abbess, abbot, Covent Garden nun

##### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

#### Further reading

* Nun on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from the letter’s name in the respective language. Doublet of nu.

#### Alternative forms

* noon
* nūn

#### Pronunciation

* enPR: nŏŏn, IPA: /nʊn/ or enPR: no͞on, IPA: /nuːn/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʊn, -uːn

#### Noun

nun (plural nuns)
* The fourteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets or abjads (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).

##### Translations
#### See also

* Appendix:Hebrew alphabet

#### Further reading

* Nun (letter) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Etymology 3
#### Pronoun

nun
* Pronunciation spelling of nothing.

### References

* ↑ John S[tephen] Farmer; W[illiam] E[rnest] Henley, compilers (1902) “nun”, in Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present. […], volume V, [London: […] Harrison and Sons] […], →OCLC, page 76.
* Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “nun”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

## Asturian
### Alternative forms

* ñun (adverb)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈnun/ [ˈnũŋ]

### Etymology 1

From Latin nōn.

#### Adverb

nun
* not, no (used to make negatives)

### Etymology 2
#### Contraction

nun
* in a/an (contraction of en + un)

## Azerbaijani
### Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic نُون (nūn).

### Noun

nun (definite accusative nunu, plural nunlar)
* the Arabic letter ن

#### Further reading

* “nun” in Obastan.com.

## Bambara
### Noun

nún
* (anatomy) nose

### References

* Richard Nci Diarra, Lexique bambara-français-anglais, December 13, 2010

## Champenois
### Etymology

Inherited from Old French negun, from Latin nec unus.

### Pronunciation

IPA: /nœ̃/

### Adverb

nun
* (Troyen, Langrois) nobody

### References

* Daunay, Jean (1998) Parlers de Champagne : Pour un classement thématique du vocabulaire des anciens parlers de Champagne (Aube - Marne - Haute-Marne)‎ (in French), Rumilly-lés-Vaudes
* Baudoin, Alphonse (1885) Glossaire de la forêt de Clairvaux‎ (in French), Troyes

## Chiricahua
### Alternative forms

* non (in older Americanist literature)

### Etymology

Cognates: Navajo nooʼ, Western Apache non, noi, Plains Apache nǫǫ.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /nòn/

### Noun

nun
* grave, burial place
* cache

## Chuj
### Noun

nun
* parent

## Esperanto
### Etymology

Borrowed from German nun.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [nun]
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: nun

### Adverb

nun
* now

#### Derived terms

* ĝisnuna (“(up) until now”)
* nuna
* nune
* nuntempe

## Fala
### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese non, from Latin nōn (“not”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈnun/
* Rhymes: -un
* Syllabification: nun

### Adverb

nun
* Alternative form of non (“no, not”)

### References

* Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎, 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

## Finnish
### Etymology

From Phoenician [Term?].

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈnun/, [ˈnun]
* Rhymes: -un
* Hyphenation: nun

### Noun

nun
* nun (fourteenth letter of the Hebrew and Phoenician scripts and the Northwest Semitic abjad)

#### Declension

Possessive forms of nun (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
nunini
nunini
accusative
nom.
nunini
nunini
gen.
nunini
genitive
nunini
nunieni
partitive
nuniani
nunejani
inessive
nunissani
nuneissani
elative
nunistani
nuneistani
illative
nuniini
nuneihini
adessive
nunillani
nuneillani
ablative
nuniltani
nuneiltani
allative
nunilleni
nuneilleni
essive
nuninani
nuneinani
translative
nunikseni
nuneikseni
abessive
nunittani
nuneittani
instructive
comitative
—nuneineni
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
nunisi
nunisi
accusative
nom.
nunisi
nunisi
gen.
nunisi
genitive
nunisi
nuniesi
partitive
nuniasi
nunejasi
inessive
nunissasi
nuneissasi
elative
nunistasi
nuneistasi
illative
nuniisi
nuneihisi
adessive
nunillasi
nuneillasi
ablative
nuniltasi
nuneiltasi
allative
nunillesi
nuneillesi
essive
nuninasi
nuneinasi
translative
nuniksesi
nuneiksesi
abessive
nunittasi
nuneittasi
instructive
comitative
—nuneinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
nunimme
nunimme
accusative
nom.
nunimme
nunimme
gen.
nunimme
genitive
nunimme
nuniemme
partitive
nuniamme
nunejamme
inessive
nunissamme
nuneissamme
elative
nunistamme
nuneistamme
illative
nuniimme
nuneihimme
adessive
nunillamme
nuneillamme
ablative
nuniltamme
nuneiltamme
allative
nunillemme
nuneillemme
essive
nuninamme
nuneinamme
translative
nuniksemme
nuneiksemme
abessive
nunittamme
nuneittamme
instructive
comitative
—nuneinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
nuninne
nuninne
accusative
nom.
nuninne
nuninne
gen.
nuninne
genitive
nuninne
nunienne
partitive
nunianne
nunejanne
inessive
nunissanne
nuneissanne
elative
nunistanne
nuneistanne
illative
nuniinne
nuneihinne
adessive
nunillanne
nuneillanne
ablative
nuniltanne
nuneiltanne
allative
nunillenne
nuneillenne
essive
nuninanne
nuneinanne
translative
nuniksenne
nuneiksenne
abessive
nunittanne
nuneittanne
instructive
comitative
—nuneinenne
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
nuninsa
nuninsa
accusative
nom.
nuninsa
nuninsa
gen.
nuninsa
genitive
nuninsa
nuniensa
partitive
nuniaan nuniansa
nunejaan nunejansa
inessive
nunissaan nunissansa
nuneissaan nuneissansa
elative
nunistaan nunistansa
nuneistaan nuneistansa
illative
nuniinsa
nuneihinsa
adessive
nunillaan nunillansa
nuneillaan nuneillansa
ablative
nuniltaan nuniltansa
nuneiltaan nuneiltansa
allative
nunilleen nunillensa
nuneilleen nuneillensa
essive
nuninaan nuninansa
nuneinaan nuneinansa
translative
nunikseen nuniksensa
nuneikseen nuneiksensa
abessive
nunittaan nunittansa
nuneittaan nuneittansa
instructive
comitative
—nuneineen nuneinensa :

## Galician
### Etymology

From contraction of preposition en (“in”) + masculine article un (“a, one”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /nuŋ/

### Contraction

nun m (feminine nunha, masculine plural nuns, feminine plural nunhas)
* in a, in one

## German
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /nuːn/
* Audio:(file)

### Etymology 1

From Middle High German nu, nū, nuo with a secondary final -n, already occasionally in Middle High German nuon, from Old High German nu, from Proto-West Germanic *nū.

#### Alternative forms

* nu (colloquial; otherwise archaic)

#### Adverb

nun
* now, at this moment
* now, then; expressing a logical or temporal consequence
    Wir haben abgewaschen, nun müssen wir noch abtrocknen.We've washed up, now we must dry [the dishes].
    Was bedeuten nun die geschilderten Entwicklungen für unser Land?Now what do the aforementioned developments mean for our country?
* unstressed and expletive, used for minor emphasis
    Was soll das nun heißen?What's that supposed to mean now?

##### Usage notes

* Although the adverb is similar and akin to English “now”, German nun is not commonly used in a strictly temporal sense, meaning “at this moment”. For that, see jetzt.

#### Interjection

nun
* now, well, so
    Nun, das ist eine schwierige Frage.Well, that's a tough question.

### Etymology 2

Clipping of nun daß or nun da.

#### Conjunction

nun
* (literary or dated colloquial) now that, given that it has occurred that the circumstances do not withstand that …

## Hausa
### Etymology

From Arabic نُون (nūn).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /nún/
** (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA: [nɪ́ŋ]

### Noun

nun f
* nun (letter of the Arabic alphabet)

## Ido
### Etymology

Borrowed from Esperanto nun, German nun. Originally replaced with nunk, it was eventually taken back.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /nun/

### Adverb

nun
* now, at present, at this time
    Synonym: nunk (archaic)

#### Derived terms

* nun kande (“now when, now that”)
* nuna (“present, actual, current, now occurring”)
* nuna evento (“a present, current event”)
* nuna stando (“the existing condition, status quo”)
* nuntempa (“present day, time”)
* nuntempe (“at the present time”)

## Italian
### Etymology

From Hebrew נו״ן (nun).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈnun/
* Rhymes: -un
* Hyphenation: nùn

### Noun

nun f (invariable)
* nun, specifically:
** the name of the Phoenician-script letter 𐤍
** the name of the Hebrew-script letter נ/ן
** the name of the Arabic-script letter ن

## Jebero
### Noun

nun
* canoe

## Lombard
### Etymology

Akin to Italian noi, from Latin nos.

### Pronoun

nun
* we

## Mandarin
### Romanization

nun
* Nonstandard spelling of nún.
* Nonstandard spelling of nùn.

#### Usage notes

* Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

## Mirandese
### Adverb

nun
* not

## Old French
### Etymology 1

See nom.

#### Noun

nun oblique singular, m (oblique plural nuns, nominative singular nuns, nominative plural nun)
* (Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of nom

### Etymology 2

Reduced form of negun.

#### Adjective

nun m (oblique and nominative feminine singular nune)
* Alternative form of negun

#### Pronoun

nun
* Alternative form of negun

## Rohingya
### Alternative forms

* (Arabic) نٌ, نُنۡ
* (Bengali) নুন
* (Myanmar) နုန်
* (Hanifi) 𐴕𐴟𐴕 (nun)

### Etymology

Compare Bengali নুন (nun).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [nun]

### Noun

nun
* salt

#### Synonyms

* nomok

## Romanian
### Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin nonnus.

### Noun

nun m (plural nuni, feminine equivalent nună)
* the godfather at a wedding

#### Derived terms

* naș

#### See also

* nuntă

## Sicilian
### Alternative forms

* non, unn, 'un, nn'

### Etymology

From Latin nōn.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /nun/

### Adverb

nun
* not

## Talysh
### Etymology

Cognate with Persian نان (nân).

### Noun

nun
* bread

## Tat
### Etymology

Akin to Persian نان (nân, “bread”), see there for more.

### Noun

nun
* bread

## Turkish
### Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish نون (nûn), from Arabic نُون (nūn).

### Noun

nun
* Letter of the Arabic alphabet: ن
** Previous: م
** Next: و

## Uzbek
### Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic نُون (nūn).

### Noun

nun (plural nunlar)
* the Arabic letter ن

#### Declension
## Volapük
### Noun

nun (nominative plural nuns)
* message
** 1946, “Nuns”, in Volapükagased pro Nedänapükans, page 34:Ko lied gretik egetobs nuni, das vomül: ‚Maria Willebrand’ in ‚Warendorf’ e söl: ‚Ing. Paul Tarnow’ in ‚Düsseldorf-Oberkassel’ edeadons sekü krigaduns.With great regret we have received the news that Miss Maria Willebrand of Warendorf and Mr. ing. Paul Tarnow of Düsseldorf-Oberkassel have died as a result of war action.

#### Declension

$^1$ status as a case is disputed $^2$ in later, non-classical Volapük only

## Wolof
### Alternative forms

* ñun (used alongside "nun" in Urban Wolof)

### Pronoun

nun
* we (first-person plural subject pronoun)

#### See also

| | singular subject | plural subject | singular object | plural object |
| 1st person | man | nun | ma | nu |
| 2nd person | yow | yeen | la | leen |
| 3rd person | moom | ñoom | ko | leen |

## Zazaki
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈnun]
* Hyphenation: nun

### Noun

nun
* Alternative form of nan