N, noun
The fourteenth letter of the alphabet, used in the following senses:
1. rare. Abbreviation of non-white noun; see quotation. Also attributive.
1988 J. Heyns in Sunday Times 3 July (Extra) 2‘Sammy N rode such-and-such a horse to victory, while Jimmy N ran a close second with Josias N on his tail. Gerrit Botha failed to impress and Hannes van der Merwe maintained his standard to come home last.’ The N..stood for non-white. To give an N. jockey a full name was racetrack sacrilege in the Orange Free State.
2. [Probably initial letter of national.] Prefixed to a number: designating a particular section of the national road network.
1994 E. Clark in Weekend Post 12 Nov. (Leisure) 4Farmlands speckled with sheep..fringe the N6 to Queenstown.
The fourteenth letter of the alphabet, used in the following senses:
designating a particular section of the national road network.
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