Monastery - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: Monastery

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mon·as·ter·y

Audio Help [mon-uh-ster-ee] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -ter·ies.

1.	a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, esp. monks, living in seclusion under religious vows.

2.	the community of persons living in such a place.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < LL monastérium < LGk monastrion monk house, orig. hermit's cell, equiv. to monas-, var. s. of monázein to be alone (see mon-) + -térion neut. adj. suffix denoting place

]

—Related forms

mon·as·te·ri·al

Audio Help [mon-uh-steer-ee-uh

l] Pronunciation Key, adjective

—Synonyms 1. cloister; abbey, priory, friary, lamasery.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Monastery

To learn more about Monastery visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mon·as·ter·y Audio Help (mŏn'ə-stěr'ē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. mon·as·ter·ies

A community of persons, especially monks, bound by vows to a religious life and often living in partial or complete seclusion.
The dwelling place of such a community.

[Middle English monasterie, from Old French monastere, from Late Latin monastērium, from Late Greek monastērion, from Greek monazein, to live alone, from monos, alone; see men-⁴ in Indo-European roots.]

mon'as·te'ri·al (mŏn'ə-stîr'ē-əl, -stěr'-) adj.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
monastery

c.1420 (implied in monasterical), from O.Fr. monastere, from L.L. monasterium, from Late Gk. monasterion "a monastery," from monazein "to live alone," from monos "alone," see mono-. With suffix -terion "place for (doing something)." Originally applied to houses of any religious order, male or female.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

monastery
noun
the residence of a religious community

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
monastery [ˈmonəstəri] noun — plural ˈmonasteries

a house in which a community of monks lives

Arabic:	دَيْر
Chinese (Simplified):	修道院
Chinese (Traditional):	修道院
Czech:	klášter
Danish:	kloster
Dutch:	klooster
Estonian:	(munga)klooster
Finnish:	munkkiluostari
French:	monastère
German:	das Kloster
Greek:	μονή, μοναστήρι
Hungarian:	kolostor
Icelandic:	munkaklaustur
Indonesian:	biara
Italian:	monastero

Japanese:	修道院
Latvian:	(vīriešu) klosteris
Lithuanian:	vienuolynas
Norwegian:	(munke)kloster
Polish:	klasztor
Portuguese (Brazil):	mosteiro
Portuguese (Portugal):	mosteiro
Romanian:	mănăstire
Russian:	мужской монастырь
Slovak:	kláštor
Slovenian:	samostan
Spanish:	monasterio
Swedish:	munkkloster
Turkish:	manastır

See also: monastic

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Monastery

Clois"ter\, n. [OF. cloistre, F. clo[^i]tre, L. claustrum, pl. claustra, bar, bolt, bounds, fr. claudere, clausum, to close. See Close, v. t., and cf. Claustral.]

1. An inclosed place. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

2. A covered passage or ambulatory on one side of a court; (pl.) the series of such passages on the different sides of any court, esp. that of a monastery or a college.

But let my due feet never fail To walk the studious cloister's pale. --Milton.

3. A monastic establishment; a place for retirement from the world for religious duties.

Fitter for a cloister than a crown. --Daniel.

Cloister garth (Arch.), the garden or open part of a court inclosed by the cloisters.

Syn: Cloister, Monastery, Nunnery, Convent, Abbey, Priory.

Usage: Cloister and convent are generic terms, and denote a place of seclusion from the world for persons who devote their lives to religious purposes. They differ is that the distinctive idea of cloister is that of seclusion from the world, that of convent, community of living. Both terms denote houses for recluses of either sex. A cloister or convent for monks is called a monastery; for nuns, a nunnery. An abbey is a convent or monastic institution governed by an abbot or an abbess; a priory is one governed by a prior or a prioress, and is usually affiliated to an abbey.

Browse Nearby Entries: