nanny
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈnæni/
rhymes: -æni
Forms: form: nannies
form: nannie
Etymology: From nan (“grandmother; nursemaid”) + -y. The root is from nana (“grandma; nanny”), which is from nanna (“grandmother”), which is possibly derived from Proto-Celtic *nana (“grandmother”). See also Proto-Brythonic *nanī, Welsh nain (“grandmother”), Galician nana (“mama”), Spanish nana (“granny; nanny; mommy; housekeeper”), Sicilian nanna (“grandma”), Italian nonna (“granny”), Late Latin nonna (“nun; tutoress; old woman”), Norman nonne (“nun”), Old French nonain (“nun”). All probably ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root imitative of a child babbling, similar to Ancient Greek νάννα (nánna).
(1795) It has often been assumed that the English term was originally a widespread child's word for "female adult other than mother" (compare Greek νάννα (nánna, “aunt”), nanna).
On the other hand, according to recent research of the Dutch historical linguists Hans Beelen and Nicoline van der Sijs (published in Onze Taal, September 2018), on which see also etymologiebank.nl, in Dutch), the term nanny (and the British colloquial nan for "grandmother") may actually be eponymous, viz. being originally an affective form (i.e. a hypocoristic) of the popular female name Anne. The Dutch statesman and scientist Constantijn Huygens Jr. made the following observation during one of his many sojourns in England (noted in his Journaal, dated 13 December 1692): "Yesterday I received 10lb of chocolate again, from niece Becker, and she had Nanny, her maid, bringing me the money that she had owed me" (Gisteren kreegh 10 ℔ choccolate wederom van nicht Becker, en had Nanny, haer meidt, geweest om mij 't geldt, dat van haer hebben most, te brengen). Beelen and van der Sijs therefore assumed that "since many female domestic servants were named "Nan" or "Nanny", the name became a sobriquet for the profession of "maid, childminder" in the 18ᵗʰ century". ("Omdat veel vrouwelijke huisbedienden in het Engels de voornaam Nan of Nanny hadden, verschoof de betekenis in de achttiende eeuw naar die van een beroepsaanduiding: ‘meid, kindermeisje’")
Senses: examples: text: Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.
ref: 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
glosses: A child's nurse.
glosses: A grandmother.
glosses: A godmother.
examples: text: Breeding is a consuming goal, and the ascendance of the sex drive is nearly as apparent in the behavior of a mountain goat billy. So given over is he to following and defending a succession of nannies as he searches for one in heat (estrus), he loses interest in food altogether; […]
ref: 1983, Douglas H. Chadwick, A Beast the Color of Winter: The Mountain Goat Observed, Bison Books, published 2002, →ISBN, page 159:
text: Nannies and billies look very similar, both having dangerously sharp, curved black horns.
ref: 2005, Richard Cannings, The Rockies: A Natural History, Greystone Books, published 2005, →ISBN, page 103:
text: A farmer friend keeps a video camera in the barn so she can turn on her goat cam and observe her animals at any time of the day or night. A baby monitor picks up the sounds of a nanny when she goes into labor—if the nanny is one who changes the usual pitch of her voice or nervously bleats during kidding.
ref: 2013, Janet Hurst, The Whole Goat Handbook: Recipes, Cheese, Soap, Crafts & More, Voyageur Press, published 2013, →ISBN, page 28:
glosses: A female goat.
topics: business
mining
glosses: Synonym of sylvester (“device for pulling out pit props”).
synonyms: word: sylvester
extra: device for pulling out pit props
Synonyms: sense: female goat
word: nanny goat
sense: child's nurse
word: housemother
Derived terms: word: get someone's nanny
english: male nanny
translation: male nanny
word: manny
word: nannify
word: nannyberry
word: nannybush
word: nanny cam
word: nanny dog
word: nannydom
word: Nannygate
word: nanny goat
word: nannyish
word: nannyism
word: nannyless
word: nannylike
word: nanny shop
word: nanny state
word: supernanny
Related terms: crook and nanny
nanna
nannification