Benedictine

American  

[ben-i-dik-tin, -teen, -tahyn, ben-i-dik-teen] / ˌbɛn ɪˈdɪk tɪn, -tin, -taɪn, ˌbɛn ɪˈdɪk tin /

noun

1. Roman Catholic Church.

   1. a member of an order of monks founded at Monte Cassino by St. Benedict about a.d. 530.

   2. a member of any congregation of nuns following the rule of St. Benedict.

2. a French liqueur originally made by Benedictine monks.

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adjective

1. of or relating to St. Benedict or the Benedictines.

Benedictine British  

noun

1. a monk or nun who is a member of a Christian religious community founded by or following the rule of Saint Benedict

2. a greenish-yellow liqueur made from a secret formula developed at the Benedictine monastery at Fécamp in France in about 1510

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adjective

1. of or relating to Saint Benedict, his order, or his rule

Etymology

Origin of Benedictine

1620–30; St. Benedict + -ine ¹

Example Sentences

Services across the river were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, with Benedictine monks from Birkenhead Priory running the first regular ferries to Liverpool's markets in the 12th Century.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

She introduces an 11th-century Benedictine monk named Guido, who taught his singing students about “the intervals between notes” by pointing to different parts of his hand.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Just south of the highway closure, the rustic, isolated Lucia Lodge and the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery, remain open for overnight guests.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025

As such, the Kansas City Chiefs kicker was given a platform to express his views as the commencement speaker at Benedictine College.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2024

There was not even a dais for the abbot and his distinguished guests, as there would have been at a Benedictine abbey, for the Grandmontines don’t hold with the pride of status.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz