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.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR monastery

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

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Related formsmon·as·te·ri·al

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

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
I will now jot hastily down the points of contact between one of these monasteries described by Philo and a Buddhist monastery.
The Influence of Buddhism on Primitive Christianity|Arthur Lillie
San Martino, the site of a suppressed Benedictine monastery, is the next spot of interest.
The Mediterranean|T. G. (Thomas Gray) Bonney, E. A. R. Ball, H. D. Traill, Grant Allen, and Arthur Griffiths
Run quickly and bring the priests of the monastery to me, that I may make to them such presents as God hath given to me.
The Catholic World, Vol. X, October 1869|Various
The kindness of some monks supplied him with his first workshop, which was the vacant cell of a monastery.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
They passed two years together at the monastery of Poss-Rhoss.
Caucasian Legends|A. Goulbat

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

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.