hermit
[ hur-mit ]
/ ˈhɜr mɪt /
noun
a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
any person living in seclusion; recluse.
Zoology. an animal of solitary habits.
Ornithology. any of numerous hummingbirds of the genera Glaucis and Phaethornis, having curved bills and dull-colored rather than iridescent plumage.
a spiced molasses cookie often containing raisins or nuts.
Obsolete. a beadsman.
Nearby words
Origin of hermit
1175–1225; Middle English ermite, hermite, heremite < Old French < Late Latin erēmīta < Greek erēmītḗs living in a desert, equivalent to erḗm(ia) desert (derivative of erêmos desolate) + -ītēs -ite1
SYNONYMS FOR hermit
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for hermit
British Dictionary definitions for hermit
hermit
/ (ˈhɜːmɪt) /
noun
one of the early Christian recluses
any person living in solitude
Derived Forms
hermitic or hermitical, adjectivehermitically, adverbhermit-like, adjectiveWord Origin for hermit
C13: from Old French hermite, from Late Latin erēmīta, from Greek erēmitēs living in the desert, from erēmia desert, from erēmos lonely
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