Benedictine

American  

[ben-i-dik-tin, -teen, -tahyn, ben-i-dik-teen] / ˌbɛn ɪˈdɪk tɪn, -tin, -taɪn, ˌbɛn ɪˈdɪk tin /

noun

1. Roman Catholic Church.

   1. a member of an order of monks founded at Monte Cassino by St. Benedict about a.d. 530.

   2. a member of any congregation of nuns following the rule of St. Benedict.

2. a French liqueur originally made by Benedictine monks.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to St. Benedict or the Benedictines.

Benedictine British  

noun

1. a monk or nun who is a member of a Christian religious community founded by or following the rule of Saint Benedict

2. a greenish-yellow liqueur made from a secret formula developed at the Benedictine monastery at Fécamp in France in about 1510

---

adjective

1. of or relating to Saint Benedict, his order, or his rule

Etymology

Origin of Benedictine

1620–30; St. Benedict + -ine ¹

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Benedictine

He said he had learned about a Benedictine Priory site "which is very interesting" and discovered there had been "a really remarkably large industry in harvesting seaweed".

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

On Thursday morning, Ihor M. -- whose last name has been withheld under Polish privacy law -- entered the Benedictine abbey in Jaroslaw, in southeastern Poland.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Services across the river were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, with Benedictine monks from Birkenhead Priory running the first regular ferries to Liverpool's markets in the 12th Century.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026

Sarah Kirkland Snider’s fascinating “Hildegard,” which had its New York debut at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater on Friday, explores the life and mind of the 12th-century Benedictine abbess, visionary and composer Hildegard von Bingen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026

One monk wore the black robes of the Benedictine order.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---