nunnery
noun/ˈnʌn(ə)ɹi/
Etymology From Middle English nonnery, nonnerie, equivalent to nun + -ery. (brothel): Compare typologically Czech nevěstinec (< nevěstka < nevěsta).
1
Any convent (religious community) or the buildings thereof.
2
Christianity The residence of a female religious community, a monastery or abbey for nuns.
- Get thee to a nunnery, why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
- [To] some one Gentleman generally acquainted, they giue... free priuiledge thenceforward in theyr Nunnery, to procure them frequentance...1593, Thomas Nashe, Christs Teares ouer Ierusalem, page 79:
- To the antipapist Tudors nunnery was a slang term for a brothel.1977, J.T. Shipley, In Praise of England, page 194:
- Hypernyms
- monastery