Nude

[nood, nyood] /nud, nyud/

Usage alert
See .
adjective, nuder, nudest.
1.
naked or unclothed, as a person or the body.
2.
without the usual coverings, furnishings, etc.; bare:
a nude stretch of land laid waste by brush fires.
3.
(of a photograph, painting, statue, etc.) being or prominently displaying a representation of the nude human figure.
4.
Law. made without a consideration or other legal essential:
a nude contract.
5.
having the color nude.
noun
6.
a sculpture, painting, etc., of a nude human figure.
7.
an unclothed human figure.
8.
the condition of being unclothed:
to sleep in the nude.
9.
(no longer in common use; now considered offensive) a light grayish-yellow brown to brownish-pink color.
10.
a color that falls within the spectrum of human skin colors.
/njuːd/
adjective
1.
completely unclothed; undressed
2.
having no covering; bare; exposed
3.
(law)

noun
4.
the state of being naked (esp in the phrase in the nude)
5.
a naked figure, esp in painting, sculpture, etc
adj.

1530s, a legal term, “unsupported, not formally attested,” from Latin nudus “naked, bare, unclothed, stripped” (see naked). General sense of “mere, plain, simple” attested from 1550s. In reference to the human body, meaning “unclothed,” it is an artistic euphemism for naked, dating from 1610s (implied in nudity) but not in common use in this sense until mid-19c.
n.

“nude figure in visual art,” 1708, from French nud, obsolete variant of nu “naked, nude, bare,” from Latin nudus (see nude (adj.)).

Said of machines delivered without an operating system (compare bare metal). “We ordered 50 systems, but they all arrived nude, so we had to spend a an extra weekend with the installation tapes.” This usage is a recent innovation reflecting the fact that most PC clones are now delivered with DOS or Microsoft Windows pre-installed at the factory. Other kinds of hardware are still normally delivered without OS, so this term is particular to PC support groups.
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-13)