stylite

[ stahy-lahyt ]

See synonyms for stylite on Thesaurus.com

nounEcclesiastical History.

one of a class of solitary ascetics who lived on the top of high pillars or columns.

Origin of stylite

1630–40; <Late Greek stȳlī́tēs, equivalent to stŷl(os) pillar + -itēs-ite¹

Other words from stylite

sty·lit·ic [stahy-lit-ik], /staɪˈlɪt ɪk/, adjective

Words Nearby stylite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stylite in a sentence

A stylite might have contented himself there; Gilliatt, more luxurious in his requirements, wanted something more commodious.
Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo
This old monk was St. Luke the stylite, appearing in vision.
Curiosities of Olden Times | S. Baring-Gould
He stopped, some paces from the column, and began to examine the stylite, wiping his face meanwhile with the skirt of his toga.
Thais | Anatole France
Simeon the stylite comes down from his pillar-top, and chaffers in the market-place with common folks.
Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3) | Theodore Parker

British Dictionary definitions for stylite

stylite

/ (ˈstaɪlaɪt) /

noun

Christianity one of a class of recluses who in ancient times lived on the top of high pillars

Origin of stylite

C17: from Late Greek stulitēs, from Greek stulos a pillar

Derived forms of stylite

stylitic (staɪˈlɪtɪk), adjective

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

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