[muhngk] 
| 1. | (in Christianity) a man who has withdrawn from the world for religious reasons, esp. as a member of an order of cenobites living according to a particular rule and under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. |
| 2. | (in any religion) a man who is a member of a monastic order: a Buddhist monk. |
| 3. | Printing. a dark area on a printed page caused by uneven inking of the plate or type. Compare friar (def. 2). |
[muhngk] | 1. | (James) Arthur (Art), born 1957, U.S. football player. |
| 2. | The⋅lo⋅ni⋅ous [thuh-loh-nee-uhs] (Sphere), 1917–1982, U.S. jazz pianist and composer. |
| 3. | George. Monck, George. |
[muhngk] | 1. | Sir Charles Stanley, (4th Viscount Monck, 1st Baron Monck), 1819–94, British colonial administrator, born in Ireland: governor general of Canada 1861–68. |
| 2. | Also, Monk. George, (1st Duke of Albermarle and Earl of Torrington), 1608–70, English general. |
| Monck or Monk (mŭngk) English general who was instrumental in the restoration of Charles II (1660) and supervised London during the plague of 1665. |
| monk (mŭngk) n. A man who is a member of a brotherhood living in a monastery and devoted to a discipline prescribed by his order: a Carthusian monk; a Buddhist monk. [Middle English munk, from Old English munuc, from Late Latin monachus, from Late Greek monakhos, from Greek, single, from monos; see men-4 in Indo-European roots.] |
| Monk (mŭngk) American football player. As a wide receiver with the Washington Redskins, he set (1992) a National Football League record for career receptions. |
| Monk, George See George Monck. |
| Monk, Thelonious Sphere 1917-1982. American jazz pianist and composer whose spare style and unusual harmonic sense made him one of the most influential modern jazz musicians. |
"In England, before the Reformation, the term was not applied to the members of the mendicant orders, who were always called friars. From the 16th c. to the 19th c., however, it was usual to speak of the friars as a class of monks. In recent times the distinction between the terms has been carefully observed by well-informed writers. In Fr. and Ger. the equivalent of monk is applied equally to 'monks' and 'friars.' " [OED]
monk
man who separates himself from society and lives either alone (a hermit or anchorite) or in an organized community in order to devote himself full time to religious life. See monasticism.
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