monastery
[ mon-uh-ster-ee ]
/ ˈmɒn əˌstɛr i /
noun, plural mon·as·ter·ies.
a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, especially monks, living in seclusion under religious vows.
the community of persons living in such a place.
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RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- monarticular,
- monas,
- monash,
- monaster,
- monasterial,
- monastic,
- monasticism,
- monastir,
- monastral,
- monathetosis
Origin of monastery
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin monastērium < Late Greek monastḗrion monk house, orig. hermit's cell, equivalent to monas-, variant stem of monázein to be alone (see mon-) + -tērion neuter adj. suffix denoting place
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for monastery
monastery
/ (ˈmɒnəstərɪ, -strɪ) /
noun plural -teries
the residence of a religious community, esp of monks, living in seclusion from secular society and bound by religious vows
Word Origin for monastery
C15: from Church Latin monastērium, from Late Greek monastērion, from Greek monázein to live alone, from monos alone
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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monastery
c.1400, from Old French monastere "monastery" (14c.) and directly from Late Latin monasterium, from Ecclesiastical Greek monasterion "a monastery," from monazein "to live alone," from monos "alone" (see mono-). With suffix -terion "place for (doing something)." Originally applied to houses of any religious order, male or female.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper