cenobite

or coe·no·bite

[see-nuh-bahyt, sen-uh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cenobite ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a member of a religious order living in a convent or community.

RELATED WORDS

nun, celibate, religious, monk

Nearby words

Origin of cenobite

1630–40; < Late Latin coenobīta, equivalent to coenob- (< Greek koinóbios (adj.) conventual, living together, equivalent to koino- ceno-² + bi- bi-² + -os adj. suffix) + -īta -ite¹

Related formsce·no·bit·ic

[see-nuh-bit-ik, sen-uh-] /ˌsi nəˈbɪt ɪk, ˌsɛn ə-/, ce·no·bit·i·cal, ce·no·bi·an

[si-noh-bee-uh n] /sɪˈnoʊ bi ən/, adjectivece·no·bit·i·cal·ly, adverbce·no·bit·ism

[see-nuh-bahy-tiz-uh m, sen-uh-] /ˈsi nəˌbaɪ tɪz əm, ˈsɛn ə-/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cenobite

He did not dine every day, and when he did it was a cenobite's meal, little suited to the taste of a true Englishman.
My Recollections of Lord Byron|Teresa Guiccioli
And though the cenobite realises his personality, it is often an impoverished personality that he so realises.
Miscellaneous Aphorisms; The Soul of Man|Oscar Wilde
He retained his old habits as a cenobite, and even as a hermit.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume III (of 16): March|Sabine Baring-Gould
Her neatness and the exquisite care she took of her person had in them little of the cenobite.
Pepita Ximenez|Juan Valera

But neither the life of a cenobite, nor the labours of a missionary could satisfy the aspirations of his soul after perfection.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume III (of 16): March|Sabine Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for cenobite

cenobite

noun

a variant spelling of coenobite

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

Word Origin and History for cenobite

cenobite

also coenobite, "member of a communal religious order," 1630s, from Church Latin coenobita "a cloister brother," from coenobium "a convent," from Greek koinobion "life in community, monastery," from koinos "common" (see coeno-) + bios "life" (see bio-).