n

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The 14th letter of the modern English alphabet.
2. n. Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter n.
3. n. The 14th in a series.
4. n. Something shaped like the letter N.
5. abbr. Grammar neuter
6. abbr. neutron.
7. abbr. Chemistry normal

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. The fourteenth letter and eleventh consonant in the English alphabet, having a corresponding place also in the alphabets from which ours comes. The comparative scheme of forms in these alphabets and in the Egyptian (see A) is as follows:
2. The value of the character has been the same through the whole history of its use. It stands for the “dental” nasal, the nasal sound corresponding to d and t, as does m to b and p, and ng to g and k. This sound, namely, implies for its formation the same check or mute-contact as d and t, with sonant vibration of the vocal cords as in d, and further with unclosure of the passage from the mouth into the nose, and nasal resonance there. Among the nasals, it is by far the most common in English pronunciation (more than twice as common as m, and eight times as common as ng). While all the nasals are semivocalic or liquid, n is the only one which (like l, but not more than half as often) is used with vocalic value in syllable-making: namely, in unaccented syllables, where an accompanying vowel, formerly uttered, is now silenced: examples are token, rotten, open, lesson, reason, oven; such form, on an average, about one in eight hundred of English syllables. The sign n has no variety of sounds; but before ch, j, in the same syllable (as in inch, hinge) it takes on a slightly modified—a palatalized—character; and similarly it is gutturalized, or pronounced as ng, before k and g (hard), as in ink, finger; and its digraph ng (see G) is the usual representative of the guttural or back-palatal nasal, which in none of our alphabets has a letter to itself. N is doubled under the same circumstances as other consonants, and in a few words (as kiln, damn, hymn) is silent. In the phonetic history of our family of languages, n is on the whole a constant sound; that is to say, there is no other sound into which it passes on a large scale; but its loss, with accompanying vowel-modification, has been a frequent process.
3. As a medieval numeral, 90, and with a stroke over it (Ñ), 90,000.
4. In chem., the symbol for nitrogen.
5. In mathematics, an indefinite constant whole number, especially the degree of a quantic or an equation, or the class of a curve.
6. An abbreviation
7. of north or northern;
8. of noun (so used in this work);
9. of neuter;
10. of nail (or nails), a measure.
11. An abbreviation
12. of North America, or North American;
13. of National Academy, or National Academician;
14. in microscopy, of numerical aperture (see objective).
15. n. An abbreviation of the Latin nota bene, literally, mark or note well—that is, take particular notice.
16. An abbreviation
17. of National Guard;
18. of no good or no go.
19. n. An abbreviation of New Latin.
20. An abbreviation
21. of New Style, and
22. of New Series.
23. n. An abbreviation of New Testament.
24. An abbreviation of northwest.
25. An abbreviation
26. of Nationalist;
27. in meteor., of nimbus;
28. in chem., of normal, in reference to the strength of a solution; ⁄110 n. stands for one tenth normal strength, or a normal solution diluted tenfold: also written /₁₀ or /₁₀. See normal solution.
29. of name;
30. of the Latin natus, born;
31. of nephew;
32. of new;
33. of women;
34. of nominative;
35. of noon;
36. of Norse;
37. in electrotechnics, of north pole;
38. of note;
39. of Northern Postal District, London.
40. In elec trotechnics, a symbol
41. used by telegraph operators to indicate that a message is completed and that there is nothing more to follow;
42. of the total number of lines of magnetic flux in a circuit;
43. of the frequency of any harmonic or periodic function of the time.
44. n. An abbreviation of New Brunswick; of North Britain; of North British.
45. n. An abbreviation of New Church; of North Carolina.
46. n. An abbreviation of no date.
47. n. An abbreviation of New England;
48. n. of northeast;
49. n. of Northeastern Postal District, London.
50. An abbreviation
51. of Newfoundland;
52. of New French;
53. of Norman French.
54. An abbreviation
55. of New Granada;
56. of Noble Grand.
57. n. An abbreviation of New Hampshire.
58. n. An abbreviation of Native Infantry.
59. n. An abbreviation of New Jersey.
60. n. An abbreviation
61. n. of north latitude;
62. n. of the Latin non licet, it is not permitted;
63. n. of the Latin non liquet, it does not appear, it is doubtful, the case is not clear;
64. n. of the Latin non longe, not far.
65. n. An abbreviation
66. n. of New Mexico;
67. n. of the Latin nux moschata, nutmeg.
68. n. An abbreviation
69. n. of natural order;
70. n. of New Orleans.
71. n. An abbreviation
72. n. of the Latin nisi prius, unless before;
73. n. of Notary Public.
74. n. An abbreviation
75. n. of National Society;
76. n. of New School;
77. n. of New Side; of the French Notre Seigneur, Our Lord;
78. n. of not specified;
79. n. of Nova Scotia;
80. n. of Numismatic Society.
81. n. An abbreviation
82. n. of New Translation;
83. n. of Northern Territory, of South Australia.
84. n. An abbreviation of name unknown.
85. n. An abbreviation of New Version.
86. n. An abbreviation
87. n. of northwestern;
88. n. of Northwestern Postal District, London.
89. n. An abbreviation of New York, city or State.
90. n. Abbreviations of New Zealand.

Wiktionary

1. abbr. north
2. abbr. grammar noun
3. abbr. grammar neuter gender
4. abbr. organic chemistry normal
5. abbr. Neutral.
6. abbr. No.
7. n. The fourteenth letter of the English alphabet, called en and written in the Latin script.
8. n. The ordinal number fourteenth, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called en and written in the Latin script.
9. n. The fourteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
10. n. alveolar nasal.
11. n. statistics Sample size.
12. n. physics neutron

GNU Webster's 1913

1. 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.
2. n. (Print.) A measure of space equal to half an M (or em); an en.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the cardinal compass point that is at 0 or 360 degrees
2. n. (of a solution) concentration expressed in gram equivalents of solute per liter
3. n. the 14th letter of the Roman alphabet
4. n. a unit of force equal to the force that imparts an acceleration of 1 m/sec/sec to a mass of 1 kilogram; equal to 100,000 dynes
5. n. a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues