N N (ĕn), the fourteenth letter of English alphabet, is a vocal consonent, and, in allusion to its mode of formation, is called the dentinasal or linguanasal consonent. Its commoner sound is that heard in ran , done ; but when immediately followed in the same word by the sound of g hard or k (as in single , sink , conquer ), it usually represents the same sound as the digraph ng in sing , bring , etc. This is a simple but related sound, and is called the gutturo-nasal consonent. See Guide to Pronunciation , §§ 243-246.

The letter N came into English through the Latin and Greek from the Phœnician, which probably derived it from the Egyptian as the ultimate origin. It is etymologically most closely related to M. See M .

N N noun (Print.) A measure of space equal to half an M (or em); an en.

Na Na (nä) adjective & adverb No, not. See No . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Nab Nab (năb) noun [ Confer Knap , Knop , Knob .] 1. The summit of an eminence. [ Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

2. (Firearms) The cock of a gunlock. Knight.

3. (Locksmithing) The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot. Knight.

Nab Nab transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Nabbed ; present participle & verbal noun Nabbing .] [ Dan nappe , or Swedish nappa .] To catch or seize suddenly or unexpectedly. [ Colloq.] Smollett.

Nabit Na"bit (nā"bĭt) noun Pulverized sugar candy. Crabb.

Nabk Nabk (năbk) noun [ Arabic nabiqa , nibqa .] (Botany) The edible berries of the Zizyphys Lotus , a tree of Northern Africa, and Southwestern Europe. [ Written also nubk .] See Lotus (b) , and Sadr .

Nabob Na"bob (nā"bŏb) noun [ Hind. nawāb , from Arabic nawāb , plural of nāïb a vicegerent, governor. Cf Nawab .] 1. A deputy or viceroy in India; a governor of a province of the ancient Mogul empire.

2. One who returns to Europe from the East with immense riches: hence, any man of great wealth. " A bilious old nabob ." Macaulay.

Nacarat Nac"a·rat noun [ French nacarat , from Spanish or Portuguese nacarado , from nácar mother-of- pearl. See Nacre .] 1. A pale red color, with a cast of orange. Ure.

2. Fine linen or crape dyed of this color. Ure.

Nacelle Na·celle" noun [ French] 1. A small boat. [ Obsolete]

2. The basket suspended from a balloon; hence, the framework forming the body of a dirigible balloon, and containing the machinery, passengers, etc.

3. A boatlike, inclosed body of an aëroplane.

Nacker Nack"er noun See Nacre . Johnson.

Nacre Na"cre noun [ French, confer Spanish nácara , nácar , Italian nacchera , naccaro , Late Latin nacara , nacrum ; of Oriental origin, confer Arabic nakīr hollowed.] (Zoology) A pearly substance which lines the interior of many shells, and is most perfect in the mother-of-pearl. [ Written also nacker and naker .] See Pearl , and Mother-of- pearl .

Nacré Na`cré" adjective [ French See Nacre .] (Art) Having the peculiar iridescence of nacre, or mother-of-pearl, or an iridescence resembling it; as, nacré ware.

Nacreous Na"cre·ous adjective [ See Nacre .] (Zoology) Consisting of, or resembling, nacre; pearly.

Nad, Nadde Nad, Nad"de [ Contr. from ne hadde .] Had not. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Nadder Nad"der noun [ Anglo-Saxon nædre . See Adder .] An adder. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Nadir Na"dir noun [ French, Spanish , & Italian nadir ; all from Arabic nasīru's samt nadir, prop., the point opposite the zenith ( as samt ), in which nasīr means alike, corresponding to. Confer Azimuth , Zenith .] 1. That point of the heavens, or lower hemisphere, directly opposite the zenith; the inferior pole of the horizon; the point of the celestial sphere directly under the place where we stand.

2. The lowest point; the time of greatest depression.

The seventh century is the nadir of the human mind in Europe.

Hallam.

Nadir of the sun (Astron.) , the axis of the conical shadow projected by the earth. Crabb.

Nag Nag (năg) noun [ Middle English nagge , Dutch negge ; akin to English neigh .] 1. A small horse; a pony; hence, any horse.

2. A paramour; -- in contempt. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Nag Nag transitive verb & i. [ imperfect & past participle Nagged ; present participle & verbal noun Nagging .] [ Confer Swedish nagga to nibble, peck, Danish nage to gnaw, Icelandic naga , gnaga , German nagen , & English gnaw .] To tease in a petty way; to scold habitually; to annoy; to fret pertinaciously. [ Colloq.] "She never nagged ." J. Ingelow.

Nagana Na·ga"na noun [ Prob. native name.] (Medicine) The disease caused by the tsetse fly. [ South Africa]

Nagging Nag"ging adjective Fault-finding; teasing; persistently annoying; as, a nagging toothache. [ Colloq.]

Naggy Nag"gy adjective Irritable; touchy. [ Colloq.]

Nagor Na"gor noun (Zoology) A West African gazelle ( Gazella redunca ).

Nagyagite Nag"yag·ite noun [ So called from Nagyag , in Transylvania.] (Min.) A mineral of blackish lead-gray color and metallic luster, generally of a foliated massive structure; foliated tellurium. It is a telluride of lead and gold.

Naiad Na"iad noun [ Latin naias , - adis , naïs , -idis , a water nymph, Gr ..., ..., from ... to flow: confer French naïade . Confer Naid .] 1. (Myth.) A water nymph; one of the lower female divinities, fabled to preside over some body of fresh water, as a lake, river, brook, or fountain.

2. (Zoology) Any species of a tribe ( Naiades ) of freshwater bivalves, including Unio , Anodonta , and numerous allied genera; a river mussel.

3. (Zoöl) One of a group of butterflies. See Nymph .

4. (Botany) Any plant of the order Naiadaceæ , such as eelgrass, pondweed, etc.

Naiant Na"iant adjective (Her.) See Natant . Crabb.

Naid Na"id noun [ See Naiad .] (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of small, fresh- water, chætopod annelids of the tribe Naidina . They belong to the Oligochæta .

Naïf Na"ïf` (...; formerly ...) adjective [ French naïf . See Naïve .] 1. Having a true natural luster without being cut; -- applied by jewelers to a precious stone.

2. Naïve; as, a naïf remark. London Spectator.

Naik Na"ik noun [ Hind. nāyak .] A chief; a leader; a Sepoy corporal. Balfour (Cyc. of India).

Nail Nail noun [ Anglo-Saxon nægel , akin to Dutch nagel , OS ... Old High German nagal , German nagel , Icelandic nagl , nail (in sense 1), nagli nail (in sense 3), Swedish nagel nail (in senses 1 and 3), Danish nagle , Goth. ganagljan to nail, Lithuanian nagas nail (in sense 1), Russian nogote , Latin unguis , Greek ..., Sanskrit nakha . ...] 1. (Anat.) the horny scale of plate of epidermis at the end of the fingers and toes of man and many apes.

His nayles like a briddes claws were.

Chaucer.

» The nails are strictly homologous with hoofs and claws. When compressed, curved, and pointed, they are called talons or claws , and the animal bearing them is said to be unguiculate ; when they incase the extremities of the digits they are called hoofs , and the animal is ungulate .

2. (Zoology) (a) The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera. (b) The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.

3. A slender, pointed piece of metal, usually with a head, used for fastening pieces of wood or other material together, by being driven into or through them.

» The different sorts of nails are named either from the use to which they are applied, from their shape, from their size, or from some other characteristic, as shingle, floor, ship-carpenters', and horseshoe nails, roseheads, diamonds, fourpenny, tenpenny (see Penny , adjective ), chiselpointed, cut, wrought, or wire nails, etc.

4. A measure of length, being two inches and a quarter, or the sixteenth of a yard.

Nail ball (Ordnance) , a round projectile with an iron bolt protruding to prevent it from turning in the gun. -- Nail plate , iron in plates from which cut nails are made. -- On the nail , in hand; on the spot; immediately; without delay or time of credit; as, to pay money on the nail . "You shall have ten thousand pounds on the nail ." Beaconsfield. -- To hit the nail on the head , to hit most effectively; to do or say a thing in the right way.

Nail Nail transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Nailed ; present participle & verbal noun Nailing .] [ Anglo-Saxon næglian . See Nail , noun ] 1. To fasten with a nail or nails; to close up or secure by means of nails; as, to nail boards to the beams.

He is now dead, and nailed in his chest.

Chaucer.

2. To stud or boss with nails, or as with nails.

The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold.

Dryden.

3. To fasten, as with a nail; to bind or hold, as to a bargain or to acquiescence in an argument or assertion; hence, to catch; to trap.

When they came to talk of places in town, you saw at once how I nailed them.

Goldsmith.

4. To spike, as a cannon. [ Obsolete] Crabb.

To nail a lie or an assertion , etc., to detect and expose it, so as to put a stop to its currency; -- an expression probably derived from the former practice of shopkeepers, who were accustomed to nail bad or counterfeit pieces of money to the counter.

Nail-headed Nail"-head`ed adjective Having a head like that of a nail; formed so as to resemble the head of a nail.

Nail-headed characters , arrowheaded or cuneiform characters. See under Arrowheaded . -- Nail-headed molding (Architecture) , an ornament consisting of a series of low four-sided pyramids resembling the heads of large nails; -- called also nail-head molding , or nail-head . It is the same as the simplest form of dogtooth. See Dogtooth .

Nailbrush Nail"brush` noun A brush for cleaning the nails.

Nailer Nail"er noun 1. One whose occupation is to make nails; a nail maker.

2. One who fastens with, or drives, nails.

Naileress Nail"er·ess noun A women who makes nailes.

Nailery Nail"er·y noun ; plural Naileries A manufactory where nails are made.

Nailless Nail"less adjective Without nails; having no nails.

Nainsook Nain`sook" noun [ Nainsukh , a valley in Kaghan.] A thick sort of jaconet muslin, plain or striped, formerly made in India.

Nais Na"is noun [ Latin , a naiad.] (Zoology) See Naiad .

Naissant Nais`sant" adjective [ French, present participle of naître to be born, Latin nasci .] (Her.) Same as Jessant .

Naïve Na"ïve` adjective [ French naïf , fem. naïve , from Latin nativus innate, natural, native. See Native , and confer Naïf .] Having native or unaffected simplicity; ingenuous; artless; frank; as, naïve manners; a naïve person; naïve and unsophisticated remarks.

Naïvely Na"ïve`ly adverb In a naïve manner.

Naïveté Na`ïve`té" noun [ French See Naïve , and confer Nativity .] Native simplicity; unaffected plainness or ingenuousness; artlessness.

A story which pleases me by its naïveté -- that is, by its unconscious ingenuousness.

De Quincey.

Naïvety Na"ïve`ty noun Naïveté. Carlyle.

Nake Nake transitive verb To make naked. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Come, be ready, nake your swords.

Old Play.

Naked Na"ked adjective [ Anglo-Saxon nacod ; akin to Dutch naakt , German nackt , Old High German nacchot , nahhot , Icelandic nökviðr , nakinn , Swedish naken , Danish nögen , Goth. naqaþs , Lithuanian nůgas , Russian nagii , Latin nudus , Sanskrit nagna . √266. Confer Nude .]

1. Having no clothes on; uncovered; nude; bare; as, a naked body; a naked limb; a naked sword.

2. Having no means of defense or protection; open; unarmed; defenseless.

Thy power is full naked .

Chaucer.

Behold my bosom naked to your swords.

Addison.

3. Unprovided with needful or desirable accessories, means of sustenance, etc.; destitute; unaided; bare.

Patriots who had exposed themselves for the public, and whom they say now left naked .

Milton.

4. Without addition, exaggeration, or excuses; not concealed or disguised; open to view; manifest; plain.

The truth appears so naked on my side, That any purblind eye may find it out.

Shak.

All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we to do.

Hebrew iv. 13.

5. Mere; simple; plain.

The very naked name of love.

Shak.

6. (Botany) Without pubescence; as, a naked leaf or stem; bare, or not covered by the customary parts, as a flower without a perianth, a stem without leaves, seeds without a pericarp, buds without bud scales.

7. (Mus.) Not having the full complement of tones; -- said of a chord of only two tones, which requires a third tone to be sounded with them to make the combination pleasing to the ear; as, a naked fourth or fifth.

Naked bed , a bed the occupant of which is naked, no night linen being worn in ancient times. Shak. -- Naked eye , the eye alone, unaided by glasses, or by telescope, microscope, or the like. -- Naked-eyed medusa . (Zoology) See Hydromedusa . -- Naked flooring (Carp.) , the timberwork which supports a floor. Gwilt. -- Naked mollusk (Zoology) , a nudibranch. -- Naked wood (Botany) , a large rhamnaceous tree ( Colibrina reclinata ) of Southern Florida and the West Indies, having a hard and heavy heartwood, which takes a fine polish. C. S. Sargent.

Syn. -- Nude; bare; denuded; uncovered; unclothed; exposed; unarmed; plain; defenseless.

Nakedly Na"ked·ly adverb In a naked manner; without covering or disguise; manifestly; simply; barely.

Nakedness Na"ked·ness noun 1. The condition of being naked.

2. (Script.) The privy parts; the genitals.

Ham . . . saw the nakedness of his father.

Gen. ix. 22.

Naker Na"ker noun (Zoology) Same as Nacre .

Naker Na"ker noun [ Middle English nakere , French nakaire , Late Latin nacara , Persian naqāret .] A kind of kettledrum. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

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