A nun is a woman who takes vows, the most obvious one being of chastity but usually also of poverty and obedience[?]. There are nuns in Christian traditions (Roman Catholic and Anglican, (and possibly others), and nuns in Buddhist traditions. In most cases a nun wears a uniform (a "habit") which is significantly different from the normal clothing of the women in her culture, and Buddhist nuns also shave their heads.
The nun who is elevated to manage and operate the nunnery or convent where the nuns live communally is called an abbess or a Mother Superior.
Nuns do various kinds of work, nursing the sick, teaching children, looking after the poor, and in many cases simply withdrawing from the world to pray or meditate.
See monasticism, Order (religious)
In biology, Nun is a genus of the hillstream loach, a type of small freshwater fish.
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