priory

American  

[prahy-uh-ree] / ˈpraɪ ə ri /

noun

PLURAL

priories

1. a religious house governed by a prior or prioress, often dependent upon an abbey.

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priory British  

/ ˈpraɪərɪ /

noun

1. a religious house governed by a prior, sometimes being subordinate to an abbey

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Etymology

Origin of priory

1250–1300; Middle English priorie < Medieval Latin priōria. See prior ², -y ³

Example Sentences

Enthralled by Burbage’s big talk, John Brayne sold his house, let his business slide and coughed up the money needed to begin construction amid the ruins of a medieval priory.

From The Wall Street Journal

“You see the pregnant family living in the Sanderson house and mommy’s gone. Could Laura still be alive? Did she really die? Has she just been shunned to the priory?”

From Los Angeles Times

It is fitting that we meet a woman once described as a "wrecker of civilisation" in the grounds of a ruined priory.

From BBC

It was not until August 2019, at the age of 35, that he formally converted to Catholicism at a Dominican priory in Cincinnati.

From BBC

And while visitors have always been attracted to Cartmel for its 800-year-old priory, its racecourse and its famous dessert, people living here have seen a shift from seasonal influx to year-round flow.

From BBC

Related Words

• nunnery