Nunnery
/ˈnʌnəri/noun
A building or community where nuns live and worship.
Did you know?In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “nunnery” may mean either a convent or, through period slang, a brothel—making Ophelia’s famous scene deliberately ambiguous.
Etymological Timeline
Late Latin
Latin
nonna
“A nun or female religious superior; also a familiar term associated with a female caretaker.”
Old English
Old English
nunne
“A nun, borrowed through Christian Latin usage.”
12th Century
Anglo-Norman
nunnerie
“A convent or house inhabited by nuns.”
Late 13th Century
Middle English
nunnery
“A religious house for women devoted to a conventual life.”
Modern English
English
nunnery
“A convent or residence for nuns.”