monastery

[mon-uh-ster-ee]

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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.

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

Related formsmon·as·te·ri·al

[mon-uh-steer-ee-uhl] /ˌmɒn əˈstɪər i əl/, adjective

Synonyms for monastery

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1. cloister; abbey, priory, friary, lamasery.

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

Related Words for monastery

house, abbey, cloister, priory, friary, lamasery

Examples from the Web for monastery

Contemporary Examples of monastery

A Spaniard by birth, Victor Serna left home shy of his 14th birthday and entered the monastery to become a Marist brother.
Obama’s One Hand Clap With Castro
Doug McIntyre
December 24, 2014
In 2008, his monastery was in desperate need of funds and Vreeland decided to lend a hand with his first photography exhibition.
From Fashion Player to Photographer Monk
Nina Strochlic
December 3, 2014
On Sunday Than Dar held the last of the funeral rites for her husband with a food donation ceremony at a monastery.
Hope and Change? Burma Kills a Journalist Before Obama Arrives
Joshua Carroll
November 11, 2014
To many at the time—clerics in particular—attacking a monastery or church would have seemed irrational.
How the Vikings Saved Europe and Got a Terrible Reputation
William O’Connor
September 17, 2014
These days the monastery and motels house people who had to leave Sloviansk.
Ukraine Families Flee Into the Forest to Escape Brutal Fighting in Sloviansk
Yusuf Sayman
June 10, 2014

Historical Examples of monastery

There came into his head the idea of enriching the monastery.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
Thus the monastery would be enriched and all the monks get fat.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
Monks also erected crosses to mark the boundaries of the property of their monastery.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
The infirmary seems to have been the most cheerful place in the monastery.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
The author was evidently amazed at all the sights which he witnessed in the monastery.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield

British Dictionary definitions for monastery

monastery

noun plural -teries

the residence of a religious community, esp of monks, living in seclusion from secular society and bound by religious vows

Derived Formsmonasterial (ˌmɒnəˈstɪərɪəl), adjective

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for 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.