anchorite

[ ang-kuh-rahyt ]

noun

1. a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion; hermit.

anchorite

/ ˈæŋkəˌraɪt /

noun

1. a person who lives in seclusion, esp a religious recluse; hermit

Derived Forms

• ˈanchoress, noun:feminine

Other Words From

• an·cho·rit·ic [ang-k, uh, -, rit, -ik], adjective
• ancho·riti·cal·ly adverb
• an·cho·rit·ism [ang, -k, uh, -rahy-tiz-, uh, m], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of anchorite¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English anc(h)orite, anachorite, ancorite, conflation of Middle English ancre (from Old English ancra, ancer ) and Old French anacorite or Late Latin anachōrīta, anachōrēta, from Late Greek anachōrētḗs, agent noun derivative of anachōreîn “to withdraw” + -tēs agent suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of anchorite¹

C15: from Medieval Latin anchorīta, from Late Latin anachōrēta, from Greek anakhōrētēs, from anakhōrein to retire, withdraw, from khōra a space

Example Sentences

His philosophy had   made him neither an ascetic nor an anchorite.

From Project Gutenberg

A description of this anchorite of the rocks will be given in a later chapter.

From Project Gutenberg

There rushed over him a horror that he could have succumbed so easily to the temptation that befalls every anchorite.

From Project Gutenberg

You live the life of an anchorite here, never coming to the city, and I remain in retirement, scarcely ever going from the city.

From Project Gutenberg

The solitary anchorite was soon supplanted by the cœnobitic establishment, the monastery.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abbot
• friar
• priest