<B>numismatic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of numismatics or numismatists. <DD><B> 2. </B>of coins and medals. adv. <B>numismatically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="numismatics">
<B>numismatics, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the study or collecting of coins or paper currency, medals, tokens, and the like. </DL>
<A NAME="numismatist">
<B>numismatist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an expert in numismatics. <BR> <I>Ex. A numismatist asked for a spot to spread coins (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="nummary">
<B>nummary, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with coins or money; occupied with coins or money. </DL>
<A NAME="nummular">
<B>nummular, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) somewhat flat and nearly round; shaped like a coin </DL>
<B>nummulation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) the arrangement, like that of rolls of coins, assumed by red blood cells in freshly drawn blood. </DL>
<A NAME="nummulite">
<B>nummulite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any foraminifer of an extinct group of the early Tertiary period, having a flat spiral shell. Their fossils are abundant in limestones of the Mediterranean area. </DL>
<B>numskull, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a stupid person; blockhead; dolt. <BR> <I>Ex. We considered them to be numskulls and little better than idiots (Anthony Trollope).</I> <DL COMPACT><DD> Also, <B>numbskull.</B> </DL>
</DL>
<A NAME="nun">
<B>nun</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a woman who gives up everything else for religion, and with other religious women lives a life of prayer and worship. Some nuns teach; others take care of the sick and the poor. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various birds, such as the European blue titmouse, the smew, or a variety of domestic pigeon with a veillike crest. adj. <B>nunlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="nun">
<B>nun</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. </DL>
<A NAME="nunatak">
<B>nunatak, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the peak of a mountain or hill which projects above a surrounding glacier. </DL>
<A NAME="nunbird">
<B>nunbird, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any of the South American puffbirds, with dark feathers on the body, wings, and tail, and white on the head. </DL>
<A NAME="nunbuoy">
<B>nun buoy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a buoy that is round in the middle and tapering toward each end. </DL>
<A NAME="nuncdimittis">
<B>nunc dimittis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) permission to depart; departure; dismissal. </DL>
<A NAME="nuncdimittis">
<B>Nunc Dimittis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a canticle of Simeon, beginning "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace," from the words of Simeon on recognizing the infant Jesus as the Christ (in the Bible, Luke 2:25-32). </DL>
<A NAME="nunchaku">
<B>nunchaku, </B>noun, pl. <B>-kus.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a weapon of defense against frontal assault, used especially in karate, consisting of two wooden sticks connected by a rawhide or nylon cord. </DL>
<A NAME="nuncheon">
<B>nuncheon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Informal or Dialect.) a light refreshment taken between meals. </DL>
<A NAME="nunciature">
<B>nunciature, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the office or term of service of a nuncio. </DL>
<A NAME="nuncio">
<B>nuncio, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cios.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an official representative or ambassador from the Pope to a government. <BR> <I>Ex. With the papal nuncio threatening, the Doge felt obliged to decline the gift (New Yorker).</I> (SYN) legate. </DL>
<B>nuncupative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) not in writing; oral. <BR> <I>Ex. He left me a small legacy in a nuncupative will, as a token of his kindness for me (Benjamin Franklin).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="nundinal">
<B>nundinal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with a fair or market. <DD><B> 2. </B>connected with the Roman nundines. </DL>
<A NAME="nundine">
<B>nundine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a periodical market day among the ancient Romans, being the ninth day as reckoned from the preceding market day taken as the first, or, as expressed in modern reckoning, occurring every eighth day. </DL>
<A NAME="nunmoth">
<B>nun moth,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a European moth, whose larva does great damage to forest trees. </DL>
<A NAME="nunnation">
<B>nunnation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the addition of a final <I>n</I> in the declension of nouns, as in Middle English and Arabic. </DL>
<A NAME="nunnery">
<B>nunnery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-neries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the building or buildings where nuns live; convent. <BR> <I>Ex. I shall take up my abode in a religious house, near Lisle--a nunnery, you would call it (Charlotte Bronte).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="nunsveiling">
<B>nun's veiling,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a thin, plain-woven woolen fabric, used mainly for women's dresses and sometimes for religious habits. </DL>
<A NAME="nuocmam">
<B>nuoc mam,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a thin, spicy Vietnamese fish sauce made from the liquor of decomposing fish. </DL>
<A NAME="nupe">
<B>Nupe, </B>noun, pl. <B>-pe</B> or <B>-pes.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a member of a people of central Nigeria, noted for their bronze sculptures and other art works. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Kwa language of this people. </DL>
<A NAME="nuphar">
<B>nuphar, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any perennial aquatic herb of a group of the water-lily family, with large floating or erect leaves and yellow or purplish flowers; yellow water lily; spatterdock. </DL>
<A NAME="nuplex">
<B>nuplex, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a nuclear-powered complex of industrial manufacturers. </DL>
<A NAME="nuptial">
<B>nuptial, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of marriage or weddings. <BR> <I>Ex. nuptial vows. I chose a Wife ... And in your City held my Nuptial Feast (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of the mating or breeding season among animals. <BR> <I>Ex. nuptial display, nuptial territory.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>nuptials,</B> a wedding or the wedding ceremony. <BR> <I>Ex. a feast ... rich as for the nuptials of a king (Tennyson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="nuptialblessing">
<B>Nuptial Blessing,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in the Roman Catholic Church) a special blessing bestowed upon the bride and groom at a Nuptial Mass. </DL>
<A NAME="nuptiality">
<B>nuptiality, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the rate or incidence of marriage. </DL>
<A NAME="nuptialmass">
<B>Nuptial Mass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> in the Roman Catholic and some other churches: <DD><B> 1. </B>a Mass for the bride and groom incorporated into the wedding ceremony. <DD><B> 2. </B>the wedding ceremony including this. </DL>
<A NAME="nuptialplumage">
<B>nuptial plumage,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the colorful plumage of certain male birds at the beginning of the breeding season. </DL>
<A NAME="nuraghe">
<B>nuraghe, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ghi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a towerlike structure of ancient date, of a kind peculiar to Sardinia. </DL>
<A NAME="nurse">
<B>nurse, </B>noun, verb, <B>nursed,</B> <B>nursing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person who takes care of the sick, the injured, or the old, especially under a doctor's supervision. <BR> <I>Ex. Hospitals employ many nurses.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a woman who cares for and brings up the young children or babies of another person. <BR> <I>Ex. Mrs. Jones has hired a new nurse.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=wet nurse.</B> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) one who feeds and protects, or gives any sort of aid or comfort. <BR> <I>Ex. Gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a worker in a colony of bees or ants that cares for the young. <DD><B> 6. </B>the act of controlling the balls for a series of shots in billiards. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to be a nurse; act as a nurse; work as a nurse. <DD><B> 2. </B>to suck milk from the breast of a mother or nurse. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to act as a nurse for; wait on or try to cure (the sick); take care of (sick, injured, or old people). <DD><B> 2. </B>to cure or try to cure by care. <BR> <I>Ex. She nursed a bad cold by going to bed.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to take care of and bring up (another's baby or young child). <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to nourish; make grow; protect. <BR> <I>Ex. to nurse a plant, nurse a fire, nurse a hatred in one's heart. He nursed what property was yet left to him (Scott).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to treat or use with special care. <BR> <I>Ex. He nursed his sore arm by using it very little.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Figurative.) to hold closely; clasp fondly. <BR> <I>Ex. Here I found my lord seated, nursing his cane (Robert Louis Stevenson).</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>to give milk to (a baby). <DD><B> 8. </B>to hit (billiard balls) softly so as to keep them close together for a series of shots. <DD><B> 9. </B>(Informal.) to drink very slowly in sips. <BR> <I>Ex. to nurse a cocktail.</I> noun <B>nurser.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="nurseballoon">
<B>nurse balloon,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Aeronautics.) a small portable balloon of heavy fabric, used for storing gas, as for replenishing the supply of gas of another balloon. </DL>
<A NAME="nurseling">
<B>nurseling, </B>noun. <B>=nursling.</B></DL>
<A NAME="nursemaid">
<B>nursemaid, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a girl or woman employed to care for children. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to take care of in the manner of a nursemaid; nurse; nurture. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) The families ... will nursemaid a llama for a year (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="nursepractitioner">
<B>nurse practitioner,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a registered nurse with special training in primary health care. <BR> <I>Ex. Nurse practitioners (i.e. registered nurses with extra training) can competently perform many of the physician's traditional tasks (Maclean's).</I> </DL>
