anchorite
[ ang-kuh-rahyt ]
/ ˈæŋ kəˌraɪt /
noun
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion; hermit.
Nearby words
anchorage, anchoress, anchoret, anchoretic, anchorette, anchorite, anchoritic, anchoritism, anchorman, anchorperson, anchors
Also anchoret.
Origin of anchorite
1400–50; late Middle English anc(h)orite, conflation of Middle English ancre (Old English ancra, ancer) and Old French anacorite or Medieval Latin anachōrīta < Late Greek anachōrētḗs, equivalent to Greek anachōrē-, stem of anachōreîn to withdraw (ana- ana- + chōreîn to give way, verbal derivative of chôros space) + -tēs agent suffix; Old English forms < Old Irish *ancharae < Late Latin anachōrēta < Late Greek
Related forms
an·cho·rit·ic [ang-kuh-rit-ik] /ˌæŋ kəˈrɪt ɪk/, adjectivean·cho·rit·i·cal·ly, adverban·cho·rit·ism [ang-kuh-rahy-tiz-uh m] /ˈæŋ kə raɪˌtɪz əm/, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for anchorite
British Dictionary definitions for anchorite
anchorite
/ (ˈæŋkəˌraɪt) /
noun
a person who lives in seclusion, esp a religious recluse; hermit
Derived Forms
anchoress, fem nWord Origin for anchorite
C15: from Medieval Latin anchorīta, from Late Latin anachōrēta, from Greek anakhōrētēs, from anakhōrein to retire, withdraw, from khōra a space
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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