nanny
/ˈnæni/noun, verb
nanny is spelled N-A-N-N-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nanny means “A child's nurse” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nanny is nannies.
How many letters and syllables are in nanny?
| Letters | 5: N-A-N-N-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nanny?
Nanny appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nanny?
- /ˈnæni/
Nanny has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nanny.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nanny
- nannies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- nannie
- nannying participle, present
- nannied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nanny mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A child's nurse.
The nanny was keeping a close watch on her little charges.
- 2
colloquialA grandmother.
- 3
UScolloquialA godmother.
- 4
A female goat.
- 5
Synonym of sylvester (“device for pulling out pit props”).
verb
- 1
To serve as a nanny.
- 2
derogatoryTo treat like a nanny's charges; to coddle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nanny in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense child's nurse:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nounou, nourrice, bonne d'enfants |
| German | Kindermädchen, Kinderfrau |
| Portuguese | babá |
| Spanish | niñera, nana, aya, yaya |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nanny come from?
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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).