nunnery
/ˈnʌn(ə)ɹi/noun
nunnery is spelled N-U-N-N-E-R-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nunnery means “Any convent (religious community) or the buildings thereof” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nunnery is nunneries.
How many letters and syllables are in nunnery?
| Letters | 7: N-U-N-N-E-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,954th 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 nunnery?
Nunnery appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th 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 nunnery?
- /ˈnʌn(ə)ɹi/
Nunnery has 3 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: En-au-nunnery.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nunnery
- nunneries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nunnery mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any convent (religious community) or the buildings thereof.
- 2
The residence of a female religious community, a monastery or abbey for nuns.
- 3
obsoleteslangSynonym of brothel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nunnery in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense residence for nuns:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | couvent |
| German | Nonnenkloster |
| Portuguese | convento |
| Spanish | convento |
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 nunnery come from?
From Middle English nonnery, nonnerie, equivalent to nun + -ery. (brothel): Compare typologically Czech nevěstinec (< nevěstka < nevěsta).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).