nan

plural nans

1. obsoleteSynonym of maid: a servant girl.First known use 1599

   Synonyms: maid

2. obsoleteslangSynonym of nancy: an effeminate male homosexual.First known use 1670

   Synonyms: nancy

3. UKendearingSynonym of nursemaid.First known use 1940

   Synonyms: nursemaid

4. AustraliaCanadaIrelandNew ZealandUKendearingSynonym of grandmother.First known use 1955

   We had my nan over for Christmas dinner.

   Synonyms: grandmother

plural nans

1. alternativeAlternative spelling of naan.

   Gerry ordered poppadoms and parathas and then he was interrupted by requests for vindaloos, chicken madrases and sag joshes, rice, raita and nan, from Priest, Morgan and Maria Grazia.

   2002, Desmond Barry, A Bloody Good Friday, page 157

1. World War II era; joint US/RAF; World War II era; joint US/RAFradiotelephony clear-code word for the letter N.

   Synonyms: November

1. A diminutive of the female given name Ann and Nancy.

   My Nan shall be the queen of all the fairies, / Finely attired in a robe of white.

   c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]

1. A province of Thailand.
2. The capital of Nan Province, Thailand.

plural NaNs

1. abbreviationacronymcountableuncountablecomputingAcronym of not a number, applied to numeric values that represent an undefined or unrepresentable value, such as zero divided by itself.

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of National Assembly of Nigeria.

1. NMDA antagonist neurotoxicity.
2. alternativecomputingAlternative form of NaN (not a number)