nanny

¹

[ nan-ee ]

noun

, plural nan·nies.

1. a person, usually with special training, employed to care for children in a household.

Nanny

²

[ nan-ee ]

noun

1. a female given name.

nanny

/ ˈnænɪ /

noun

1. a nurse or nursemaid for children
2. 1. any person or thing regarded as treating people like children, esp by being patronizing or overprotective
   2. ( as modifier )

      the nanny state

3. a child's word for grandmother

verb

1. intr to nurse or look after someone else's children
2. tr to be overprotective towards

Word History and Origins

Origin of nanny¹

1785–95; nursery word; compare Welsh nain grandmother, Greek nánna aunt, Russian nyánya nursemaid

Word History and Origins

Origin of nanny¹

C19: child's name for a nurse

Example Sentences

He described the relative heights of all the people in his life who he’s taller than, including Munn, his even shorter mother-in-law and a nanny who is “negative one-feet tall.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I am not the kind of woman who would hand my baby over to a nanny, not in a million years. So we would be dragging a baby around the world on tour,” Nicks said.

From Los Angeles Times

The latest government plan in South Korea to encourage couples to have more children and prevent a devastating population decline: low-wage immigrant nannies.

From Los Angeles Times

Personal choice v nanny state; realism v idealism – there are few medical conditions that stir up such heated debate.

From BBC

Margot, whose name we have changed, was 19 when she responded to a job advertisement in The Lady magazine in 1985, for a position as a nanny and governess in Surrey.

From BBC

Related Words

• au pair
• governess