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eremite

[er-uh-mahyt]
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noun
  1. a hermit or recluse, especially one under a religious vow.
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Origin of eremite

1150–1200; Middle English < Late Latin erēmīta hermit
Related formser·e·mit·ic [er-uh-mit-ik] /ˌɛr əˈmɪt ɪk/, er·e·mit·i·cal, er·e·mit·ish [er-uh-mahy-tish] /ˈɛr əˌmaɪ tɪʃ/, adjectiveer·e·mit·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for eremitic

Historical Examples

  • His messengers have gone hither and thither, to the monasteries, the convents, and the eremitic colonies wherever accessible.

    The Prince of India, Volume I

    Lew. Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for eremitic

eremite

noun
  1. a Christian hermit or recluseCompare coenobite
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Derived Formseremitic (ˌɛrɪˈmɪtɪk) or eremitical, adjectiveeremitism (ˈɛrɪmaɪˌtɪzəm), noun

Word Origin

C13: see hermit
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 eremitic

eremite

n.

c.1200, learned form of hermit (q.v.), from Church Latin eremita. Since mid-17c. in poetic or rhetorical use only, except in reference to specific examples in early Church history. Related: Eremitic; eremitical.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper