anchorite

American  

[ang-kuh-rahyt] / ˈæŋ kəˌraɪt /

noun

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

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anchorite British  

/ ˈæŋkəˌraɪt /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anchoritism
  noun
• anchoritically
  adverb
• anchoritic
  adjective
• anchoress
  noun

Etymology

Origin of anchorite

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

Related Words

• abbot
• friar
• priest