cloister

[kloi-ster]

noun

1. a covered walk, especially in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade usually opening onto a courtyard.

2. a courtyard, especially in a religious institution, bordered with such walks.

3. a place of religious seclusion, as a monastery or convent.

   Synonyms: priory, abbey

4. any quiet, secluded place.

5. life in a monastery or convent.

verb (used with object)

1. to confine in a monastery or convent.

2. to confine in retirement; seclude.

3. to furnish with a cloister or covered walk.

4. to convert into a monastery or convent.

cloister

/ ˈklɔɪstə /

noun

1. a covered walk, usually around a quadrangle in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade on the inside and a wall on the outside

2. (sometimes plural) a place of religious seclusion, such as a monastery

3. life in a monastery or convent

verb

1. (tr) to confine or seclude in or as if in a monastery

Other Word Forms

• cloisterless adjective
• cloisterlike adjective
• cloister-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cloister¹

1250–1300; Middle English cloistre < Anglo-French, Old French, blend of cloison partition ( cloisonné ) and clostre (< Latin claustrum barrier ( Late Latin: enclosed place); claustrum )

Word History and Origins

Origin of cloister¹

C13: from Old French cloistre, from Medieval Latin claustrum monastic cell, from Latin: bolt, barrier, from claudere to close; influenced in form by Old French cloison partition

Example Sentences

The Gothic arches in the creature's cell are from the vaulted arches of the cloisters at the University of Glasgow.

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A vast blaze has torn through the historic Bernaga Monastery in northern Italy, the Italian fire service said Sunday, forcing the evacuation of 22 cloistered nuns.

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In the intervening years, Anderson, who is 95, has plumbed the cloistered world of clock collectors.

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Yet his work has never stayed cloistered within academia.

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Unlike Parolin, he has decades of pastoral experience – meaning he has been an active Church leader among the people as opposed to a diplomat for the Vatican or cloistered expert on Church law.

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Related Words

• nunnery