anchorite
[ ang-kuh-rahyt ]
noun
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion; hermit.
Origin of anchorite
1First 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
- Also anchoret.
Other words from anchorite
- an·cho·rit·ic [ang-kuh-rit-ik], /ˌæŋ kəˈrɪt ɪk/, adjective
- an·cho·rit·i·cal·ly, adverb
- an·cho·rit·ism [ang-kuh-rahy-tiz-uhm], /ˈæŋ kə raɪˌtɪz əm/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for anchorite
anchorite
/ (ˈæŋkəˌraɪt) /
noun
a person who lives in seclusion, esp a religious recluse; hermit
Origin of anchorite
1C15: from Medieval Latin anchorīta, from Late Latin anachōrēta, from Greek anakhōrētēs, from anakhōrein to retire, withdraw, from khōra a space
Derived forms of anchorite
- anchoress, fem n
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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