monastery

American  

[mon-uh-ster-ee] / ˈmɒn əˌstɛr i /

noun

plural

monasteries

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

   Synonyms:

   lamasery, friary, priory, abbey, cloister

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

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monastery British  

/ ˌmɒnəˈstɪərɪəl, ˈmɒnəstərɪ, -strɪ /

noun

1. the residence of a religious community, esp of monks, living in seclusion from secular society and bound by religious vows

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Other Word Forms

• monasterial adjective

Etymology

Origin of monastery

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin monastērium, from Late Greek monastḗrion “monk house,” originally, “hermit's cell,” equivalent to monas-, variant stem of monázein “to be alone” + -tērion neuter adjective suffix denoting place; mono-

Example Sentences

He inherited great wealth from his father, and seized more from monasteries after breaking with the Catholic church, yet still ended up short on cash.

From Barron's

She was exiled to a monastery where she wrote “The Alexiad.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Mirr declined to comment on the identity of the buyer but did confirm that the person plans to use the former monastery as a home.

From MarketWatch

Anthropological analysis showed that the man buried beneath the monastery floor on Margaret Island was in his early twenties.

From Science Daily

One picture of the Vikings, she says, is of them "being raiders and pillagers and attacking monasteries - then they turn into these more peaceful Norse settlers".

From BBC