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cloistered

 - 4 dictionary results

clois⋅tered

  [kloi-sterd]
Use cloistered in a Sentence
–adjective
1. secluded from the world; sheltered: a cloistered life.
2. having a cloister or cloisters.
Origin:
1575–85; cloister + -ed 2

Synonyms:
1. withdrawn, isolated, aloof, sequestered.

clois⋅ter

  [kloi-ster]
–noun
1. a covered walk, esp. in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade usually opening onto a courtyard.
2. a courtyard, esp. in a religious institution, bordered with such walks.
3. a place of religious seclusion, as a monastery or convent.
4. any quiet, secluded place.
5. life in a monastery or convent.
–verb (used with object)
6. to confine in a monastery or convent.
7. to confine in retirement; seclude.
8. to furnish with a cloister or covered walk.
9. to convert into a monastery or convent.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME cloistre < AF, OF, b. cloison partition (see cloisonné) and clostre (< L claustrum barrier (LL: enclosed place); see claustrum )

Related forms:
clois⋅ter⋅less, adjective
clois⋅ter⋅like, adjective

Synonyms:
3. abbey, priory.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cloistered
clois·ter   (kloi'stər)   
n.  

  1. A covered walk with an open colonnade on one side, running along the walls of buildings that face a quadrangle.

    1. A place, especially a monastery or convent, devoted to religious seclusion.

    2. Life in a monastery or convent.

  3. A secluded, quiet place.

tr.v.   clois·tered, clois·ter·ing, clois·ters

  1. To shut away from the world in or as if in a cloister; seclude.

  2. To furnish (a building) with a cloister.


[Middle English cloistre, from Old French, alteration (influenced by cloison, partition) of clostre, from Latin claustrum, enclosed place, from claudere, to close.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

cloister 
c.1300, from O.Fr. clostre or O.E. clauster, both from M.L. claustrum "portion of monastery closed off to laity," from L. claustrum "place shut in, bar, bolt, enclosure," from pp. stem of claudere (see close (v.)). Sense of "enclosed space" extended to "place of religious seclusion." The verb is recorded from 1581.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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