dorter

Or dor·tour

[dawr-ter]

noun

1. a dormitory, especially in a monastery.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dorter¹

1250–1300; Middle English dortour < Old French < Latin dormītōrium dormitory

Example Sentences

One may forgive the archbishop for this lapse in his sense of humour; he had had trouble with Eustachia before; it was just like her to keep a bird that squawked in the dorter.

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The Bishop ordained “that boys shall not lie in the dorter.”

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On the other hand at Redlingfield in 1514 a nun complained that “sorores non habent curricula inter cubilia, sed una potest aliam videre quando surgit vel aliquid aliud facit” and the Bishop ordered the Prioress to provide curtains between the cubicles in the dorter.

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Dom Butler thus traces the transition from the open dorter to private cells: open dorter; side partitions between the beds; curtains in front; a latticed door in front, making a cubicle; a solid door with a large window; the window grew smaller and smaller until it became a peephole; the dorter became a gallery of private rooms.

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He slept in the dorter, and happy the nun whose cell he honoured with his presence; Vert-Vert always chose the young and pretty novices.

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