nunnery

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See also: Nunnery

English

Etymology

From Middle English nonnery, nonnerie, equivalent to nun +‎ -ery.

Pronunciation

Noun

nunnery (plural nunneries)

  1. a convent.
  2. (chiefly Christianity) The residence of a female religious community, a monastery for nuns.
  3. (humorous, slang, obsolete) Synonym of brothel.
    • 1593, Thomas Nashe, Christs Teares ouer Ierusalem, page 79:
      [To] some one Gentleman generally acquainted, they giue... free priuiledge thenceforward in theyr Nunnery, to procure them frequentance...
    • 1977, J.T. Shipley, In Praise of England, page 194:
      To the antipapist Tudors nunnery was a slang term for a brothel.

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