Benedictine

American  

[ben-i-dik-tin, -teen, -tahyn, ben-i-dik-teen] / ˌbɛn ɪˈdɪk tɪn, -tin, -taɪn, ˌbɛn ɪˈdɪk tin /

noun

1. Roman Catholic Church.

   1. a member of an order of monks founded at Monte Cassino by St. Benedict about a.d. 530.

   2. a member of any congregation of nuns following the rule of St. Benedict.

2. a French liqueur originally made by Benedictine monks.

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adjective

1. of or relating to St. Benedict or the Benedictines.

Benedictine British  

noun

1. a monk or nun who is a member of a Christian religious community founded by or following the rule of Saint Benedict

2. a greenish-yellow liqueur made from a secret formula developed at the Benedictine monastery at Fécamp in France in about 1510

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adjective

1. of or relating to Saint Benedict, his order, or his rule

Etymology

Origin of Benedictine

1620–30; St. Benedict + -ine ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Benedictine

On Thursday morning, Ihor M. -- whose last name has been withheld under Polish privacy law -- entered the Benedictine abbey in Jaroslaw, in southeastern Poland.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Benedictine Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel said the situation has worsened dramatically since he first arrived in Jerusalem in 2000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Services across the river were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, with Benedictine monks from Birkenhead Priory running the first regular ferries to Liverpool's markets in the 12th Century.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026

Just south of the highway closure, the rustic, isolated Lucia Lodge and the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery, remain open for overnight guests.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025

One monk wore the black robes of the Benedictine order.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi