Nun

How to spell nun

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce nun

What does nun mean?

1. nounA woman who has taken vows and lives in a religious community, usually in a convent.

Nun in a sentence

• The nun taught mathematics at the convent school for thirty years.

• Each nun rose before dawn to pray in the chapel.

Where does nun come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word entered English very early as the Old English nunne, which was borrowed from the Late Latin nonna. In its original setting nonna was a term of respect for an older woman, and it paired with nonnus, the matching word for an older man or monk; both seem to have begun life as warm, almost nursery-style words for revered elders. As Christian monastic communities spread across Europe, the term narrowed to mean a woman who has taken religious vows and lives in a convent. The spelling stayed remarkably stable, with the single -n- ending, which is worth fixing in the memory because the word sounds identical to none, a completely unrelated word built from Old English ne plus an, meaning not one. Keeping nun (the religious woman) apart from none (not any) in writing is the main trap.

How the word is built

• nun (from Late Latin nonna, a respectful term for an older woman or religious sister)

Words that sound like nun

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• none: Not any; not one person or thing of those referred to.