nunnery

Etymology

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

noun

  1. (chiefly Christianity) The residence of a female religious community, a monastery for nuns.
  2. (humorous, slang, obsolete) Synonym of brothel.
    [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

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