nan

Everyday

1. (informal, UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland) Grandmother; a child's name for their grandma. tree →
2. naan or nan bread: a soft flat bread from South Asia (often spelt "naan"). tree →
3. (computers) NaN means "not a number", an error value. tree →
4. In Irish place names such as Tir-nan-Og, nan means "of the". tree →

In the lessons

In everyday stories and real speech: "I'm going to my nan's for tea". In the USA children more often say grandma or granny. Phrases: my nan, at my nan's, nan bread.

Examples

• I'm staying at my nan's this weekend. tree →
• My nan makes the best apple pie. tree →
• Nan, can you read me a story? tree →
• We had curry with nan bread. tree →
• Her nan is ninety and still walks every day. tree →
• Nan and Grandad came to watch my school play. tree →
• One of the most pathetic, beautiful, and typical scenes in Irish legend is the return of Ossian from Tir-nan-Og, and his interview with St. Patrick. tree →

Note

Capital N when used as a name: "Hi, Nan!". Lower case with "my": "my nan". It is friendly and informal, not rude. Not related to numbers except in computing, where NaN is an error, not a value.